The school psychologist describes sampling as selecting participants based on race/ethnicity, free lunch status, gender, and three academic performance categories. What sampling method is this?

The school psychologist describes sampling as selecting participants based on race/ethnicity, free lunch status, gender, and three academic performance categories. What sampling method is this?

• A. Convenience sampling
• B. Stratified random sampling
• C. Purposive sampling
• D. Systematic sampling

Answer: (B)

The method focuses on ensuring representation by dividing the population into subgroups, or strata, and then sampling within those strata. In this case, the strata are defined by race/ethnicity, free lunch status, gender, and three academic performance levels. By selecting participants from each of these subgroups, the researcher aims to have representation from all key segments of the population. When the selections within each stratum are random, this is stratified random sampling. This approach reduces bias and allows meaningful comparisons across different groups. If sampling were done only from easily available participants, or if specific individuals were chosen for particular characteristics without randomization, that would reflect convenience or purposive (nonrandom) sampling. Systematic sampling would involve picking every nth person from a list, which isn’t what’s described here.

The method focuses on ensuring representation by dividing the population into subgroups, or strata, and then sampling within those strata. In this case, the strata are defined by race/ethnicity, free lunch status, gender, and three academic performance levels. By selecting participants from each of these subgroups, the researcher aims to have representation from all key segments of the population. When the selections within each stratum are random, this is stratified random sampling. This approach reduces bias and allows meaningful comparisons across different groups.

If sampling were done only from easily available participants, or if specific individuals were chosen for particular characteristics without randomization, that would reflect convenience or purposive (nonrandom) sampling. Systematic sampling would involve picking every nth person from a list, which isn’t what’s described here.