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| A form of probability sampling in which a researcher samples entire clusters, or naturally occurring groups, that exist within the population. |
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| A system for quantifying responses to open-ended questions by categorizing them according to objective rules or guidelines. |
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| Effects produced by the position of a question; where it falls within the question order can influence how the question is interpreted. |
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| The concept that traits, attitudes, and preferences can be viewed as a continuous dimension, and each individual can fall at any point along each dimension; for example, sociability can be viewed as a continuous dimension ranging from very unsociable to very sociable. |
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| A convenience sample is obtained by using any groups who happen to be convenient; considered a weak form of sampling because the researcher exercises no control over the representativeness of the sample (also called accidental sampling). |
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| The measurement of magnitude, or quantitative size, having equal intervals between values but no true zero point. |
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| The "hidden meaning" behind a question. |
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| The type of scale of measurement - ratio, interval, ordinal, or nominal - used to measure a variable. |
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| The plain meaning of the words or questions that actually appear on the page. |
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| People who are apt to disagree with a question regardless of its manifest content. |
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| The simplest level of measurement; classifies items into two or more distinct categories on the basis of some common feature. |
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| Sampling procedures in which subjects are not chosen at random; two common examples are quota and convenience samples. |
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| A measure of magnitude in which each value is measured in the form of ranks. |
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| All people, animals, or objects that have at least on characteristic in common. |
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| When in doubt about answers to multiple-choice questions, some people always select a response in a certain position, such as answer c. |
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| Selecting samples in such a way that the odds of any subject being selected for the study are known or can be calculated. |
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| The selection of nonrandom samples that reflect a specific purpose of the study. |
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| Selecting samples through predetermined quotas that are intended to reflect the makeup of the population; they can reflect the proportions of important population subgroups, but the particular individuals are not selected at random. |
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| A table of numbers generated by a computer so that every number has an equal chance of being selected for each position in the table. |
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| An unbiased method for selecting subjects in such a way that each member of the population has an equal opportunity to be selected, and the outcome cannot be predicted ahead of time by any known law. |
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| A measure of magnitude having equal intervals between values and having an absolute zero point. |
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| The extent to which a survey is consistent and repeatable. |
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| The extent to which the sample responses we observe and measure reflect those we would obtain if we could sample the entire population. |
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| A tendency to answer questions based on their latent content with the goal of creating a certain impression of ourselves. |
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| Tendency for subjects to respond to questions or test items in a specific way, regardless of the content. |
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| A selected subset of the population of interest. |
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| Deciding who the subjects will be and selecting them. |
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| The most basic form of probability sampling whereby a portion of the whole population is selected in an unbiased way. |
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| A form of non-probability sampling in which a researcher locates one or a few people who fit the sample criterion and asks these people to locate or lead the researcher to additional individuals who fit the criterion. |
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| Stratified Random Sampling |
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Definition
| A form of probability sample obtained by randomly sampling from people in each important population subgroup in the same proportion as they exist in the population. |
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| A useful way of obtaining data about people's opinions, attitudes, preferences, and experiences that are hard to observe directly; data may be obtained using questionnaires or interviews. |
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| Systematic Random Sampling |
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| A variation of random sampling in which a researcher selects every nth person from the population. |
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| The extent to which a survey actually measures the intended topic and not something else. |
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| The differences among people in their style of responding to questions they are unsure about; some people will leave these questions blank, whereas others will take a guess. |
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| People who are apt to agree with a question regardless of its manifest content. |
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