What determines the appropriate sample size to ensure confidence in research data?
Contrary to popular belief, the right sample size has little to do with the size of the population from which the sample is taken. The most important factor is the selection process used to determine the sample. Consider this: when measuring the temperature, the sample size is insignificant compared to the surrounding atmosphere it measures. But, you can still measure the temperature of your immediate surroundings. When doctors take blood to determine if you have a disease they don’t need to do a blood transfusion, they take just a small sample. Exactly how big of a sample is needed to be valid? Statistical experts have developed a standard deviation table that can be applied to any size population to determine statistical error. This table expresses error in terms of confidence intervals or variance from the norm. By using these tables, it’s easy to determine the specific sample sizes, which will yield different confidence levels. The tables are based on “like” populations sampled at
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