Unit 11: Ok, but who did you ask?
42 Determining Representativeness
In this unit we’re talking about a concept you may have seen in the article you chose for your Deconstruction assignment: Sampling! I bring up the Methods assignment because in order to be fully critical thinkers and researchers, you have to understand the logic behind sampling. Whatever research article you’re looking at (or have already looked at) for your Methods assignment may be Very Impressive Science… but if a (scientific, positivist) study isn’t conducted with the right type of sample, then it is not very useful.
Introduction by 2020 TA extraordinaire, Matthew Griffin! And now, your student textbook authors.
Learning Objectives
To understand and be able to determine if the people the researcher “talked to” could “speak for” who they are supposed to represent.
Determining Representativeness
Why is it important?
Representativeness is an important part of sampling because it shows how well a sample indicates the patterns of the overall population. The purpose of sampling is to understand the activities of a large group and a sample’s representativeness tells us how well it does this. How representative your sample is of the overall population is vital to applying your results.
What makes a sample representative?
A sample is representative when it follows the same overall trends as the population and accurately reflects the characteristics of the larger group. For example, a classroom of 40 students with 20 males and 20 females could generate a representative sample that might include ten students: five males and five females. This is because the sample itself is composed of a larger portion of the population and is, therefore, less prone to deviation from the overall trends.
Beware, a sample can easily become skewed based on who is being sampled.
How does it relate to meta-theory?!
Sampling is all about finding generalizable results! This implies that there exists a single truth that can be found, positioning this in the Positivist and Post-Positivist perspectives!
Got ideas for questions to include on the exam?
Click this link to add them! [this course element is paused because ya’ll aren’t submitting many questions…]
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Unit 11: Ok, but who did you ask?