Quota Sampling

In quota sampling the selection of the sample is made by the interviewer, who has been given quotas to fill from specified sub-groups of the population.  For example, an interviewer may be told to sample 50 females between the age of 45 and 60.

There are similarities with stratified sampling, but in quota sampling the selection of the sample is non-random.  Anyone who has had the experience of trying to interview people in the street knows how tempting it is to ask those who look most helpful, hence it is not the most representative of samples, but extremely useful. 

Advantages

  • quick and cheap to organise

Disadvantages

  • not as representative of the population as a whole as other sampling methods

  • because the sample is non-random it is impossible to assess the possible sampling error

Click on the Spreadsheets button at the top of the page to continue on the recommended route through the module.

 

 
DISCUSS Home Page
Copyright 2001 © Neville Hunt and Sidney Tyrrell Coventry University
All rights reserved.  Last updated: 10 June 2004 .