Why Use Probability Sampling?
If school administrators wished to conduct a survey assessing the popularity of pizza on the cafeteria menu, they could stop students on the way to the library and ask them the survey questions. Although this non-probability sampling type is a convenient way to conduct a survey, it’s not as accurate or rigorous as some probability sampling modalities. In any field of scholarly research, researchers must set up a process that assures that the different members of a population have an equal chance of selection. This allows researchers to draw some general conclusions beyond those people included in the study. Another reason for probability sampling is the need to eliminate any possible researcher bias. Returning to the pizza survey example, the survey administrator might not be inclined to stop the troublemaker who threw water balloons in the cafeteria last week. Researchers can choose from several types of probability sampling. This explanation uses the simple pizza survey as an example
