1.7 (Optional) Cluster sampling

In cluster sampling, the population is split into a large number of small groups called clusters, then a simple random sample of clusters is selected and every member of the chosen small groups is part of the sample.

Example 1.7 (Cluster sampling) To select students in a large course at a particular university again, a simple random sample of (say) three of the many tutorials could be selected, and every student enrolled in those selected tutorials constitute the sample.

The animation below shows how a sample of approximately 40 students could be obtained using cluster sampling, using the tutorials as clusters.

---

This material was written by Peter K. Dunn and adapted by Amanda J. Shaker. Unless otherwise stated, material within this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike License CC BY-NC-SA