sample size for dissertations

Best Sample Size for Dissertations

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Best Sample Size for Dissertations

Survey is now a basic tool in social sciences and in some fields of specialization which reliance is from the sampling procedures . Little or unacceptable knowledge will be gained if the sample size is poorly designed and executed : no matter how good the questions are and no matter how impressive the analysis is (Kalton , 1987 ,

. 4

The important question of how to determine the size of the

sample is vital for estimating the parameters (Singh and Chaudhary , 1986 ,

. 38 Our common sense would suggest that a large sample size will be better than a small one since an increase in sample size will decrease the sampling error . This is not always the case because , for example having a large sample size with a sampling frame with very similar types of respondents will just be a waste of time . Determining the best sample size will thus depend on the compromise of practical constraints (i .e . money , time , ethical issues ) and theoretical considerations . For the simplicity of analysis , given that there are no practical constraints , the following are the rule of thumb : 1 ) If the population is about 50 or less , it is best to sample the whole population 2 ) If you have to sample a population of 50 or more , then try to sample around 30 and 3 ) If you will be using stratified sampling , aim to have...