Untitled Flashcard Set

Target population

The specific group of people a researcher is interested in studying.

Sample

A smaller group selected from the target population to represent it in a study.

Population validity

The extent to which a sample's findings can be generalized to the target population.

Opportunity sampling

Selecting participants based on their availability (e.g., whoever is nearby or easy to access).

Random sampling

A sampling method where every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.

Self-selected sampling

Participants volunteer to take part, usually in response to an advertisement.

Snowball sampling

Participants recruit other participants from their own networks who share the same traits.

Stratified sampling

Random selection of participants from subgroups (strata) of the population, proportional to each subgroup's size in the population.

Pre-registration

Publicly declaring and documenting a study's hypotheses, design, and analysis plan before data collection begins.

Pilot interview

A small-scale practice run of an interview, done before the main study, to test and refine the questions.

Positionality

Acknowledging how a researcher's own social and cultural identity influences their access to participants and interpretation of data.