The Worst Ways to Sample

Perhaps the worst types of sampling methods are convenience samples and voluntary response samples.

Convenience Sampling

A convenience sample is a sample of individuals who are most accessible to the researcher. A convenience sample is usually not random or representative of the population. This is an example of a biased sampling method because it has a tendency to produce samples that are not representative of the population. For example, you take a sample of your friends because it is easy to collect information about them.

convenience sampling

Convenience sampling is the practice of choosing samples by selecting whoever is convenient.

Voluntary Response Sampling

Voluntary response sampling is a type of survey sampling where participants voluntarily decide whether or not to respond to a survey, rather than being randomly selected. It can result in a biased sample, as those who choose to participate may not be representative of the population being studied.

voluntary response sampling

Voluntary response sampling is allowing the sample to volunteer.