This article details the challenges we faced in collecting sensitive information in an ethnically and religiously divided community that has experienced recent violence. The discussion is based on a summer 2016 survey experiment we conducted in Jos, Nigeria, to gather information regarding residents' perceptions of local communal violence. We…

The historical turn in social science has prompted scholars to engage with the work of historians on a large scale. Here, social scientists face two standard problems of selection bias: confirmation bias and convenience sampling. So far, the record of dealing with these problems has been poor, and little has been done to specify how social…

This article addresses the problem of estimating the proportion Pi[subscript S] of the population belonging to a sensitive group using optional randomized response technique in stratified sampling based on Mangat model that has proportional and Neyman allocation and larger gain in efficiency. Numerically, it is found that the suggested model is…

Snowball sampling is generally seen as a highly effective sampling technique that allows for the study of difficult to reach or 'hidden' populations. It is also seen as a valuable tool for the study of particularly sensitive or private matters. As a result, it was chosen as the sampling method for a research study into illegal drug users over the…

This brief paper introduces a new approach to assessing the trustworthiness of research comparisons when expressed numerically. The 'number needed to disturb' a research finding would be the number of counterfactual values that can be added to the smallest arm of any comparison before the difference or 'effect' size disappears, minus the number of…

A revised version of Kaiser's Measure of Sampling Adequacy for factor-analytic data matrices is presented. (Author)

An experiment is described which uses a real-world sample of lawn fertilizer in a simple exercise to illustrate problems associated with the sampling step of a chemical analysis. A mixed-particle fertilizer containing discrete particles of iron oxide (magnetite, Fe[subscript 3]O[subscript 4]) mixed with other particles provides an excellent…

The use of stepwise methodologies has been sharply criticized by several researchers, yet their popularity, especially in educational and psychological research, continues unabated. Stepwise methods have been considered particularly well suited for use in regression and discriminant analyses, but their use in discriminant analysis (predictive…

This chapter provides an overview of sampling methods that are appropriate for conducting online surveys. The authors review some of the basic concepts relevant to online survey sampling, present some probability and nonprobability techniques for selecting a sample, and briefly discuss sample size determination and nonresponse bias. Although some…

Describes a sampling strategy which involves linked pairs of persons used to obtain bereaved respondents for a study examining loss and coping responses following a recent natural disaster. The sampling procedure appeared not to produce an obvious bias and was very beneficial in meeting the research objectives. (Author/NRB)

This paper provides a framework for developing sampling designs in mixed methods research. First, we present sampling schemes that have been associated with quantitative and qualitative research. Second, we discuss sample size considerations and provide sample size recommendations for each of the major research designs for quantitative and…

The author describes her 30 years of experience in the design and conduct of a series of large-scale randomized controlled studies in the field of public welfare. She describes how these studies came about, what lessons can be drawn about research methods, what was learned about the effectiveness of these programs (the National Supported Work…

Tells how staff members of a college newspaper worked out a procedure for obtaining and interviewing a sample of students that accurately represented the entire student body. (GT)

This article examines methodological issues confronting the study of qualitative and quantitative differences in ways that separated parents share time with their children. Measurement issues explored include disentangling dimensions of contact, identifying economic implications of contact, and measuring quality of contact. Sampling issues relate…

The major emphasis of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) has been directed toward individuals in the 1972 high school graduating class. Consequently, sampling parameters were established to ensure student representation, and the bulk of data collected were individual-level data. School-level data exist on a…