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Population and Target Population in Research Methodology

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2024, e, Golden Ratio of Social Science and Education

This paper thoroughly explores the foundational principles governing population and target population concepts within research methodology. It delves into the essential roles these concepts play in shaping the design and influencing the interpretation of research studies. Through an exhaustive analysis, it meticulously outlines the nuances that differentiate these two concepts, elucidating their respective contributions and implications across diverse research paradigms. Moreover, this paper underscores the importance of establishing clear definitions and boundaries for both the population and the target population. It emphasises how such precision is indispensable in guiding the formulation of effective sampling strategies, which are pivotal for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of study outcomes. Furthermore, it sheds light on how the clarity in defining these concepts significantly impacts the generalizability of research findings, elucidating how findings derived from a well-defined target population can be more confidently extrapolated to broader populations. In addition to methodological considerations, this paper investigates the ethical dimensions inherent in delineating population and target population. It underscores the moral imperative of accurately representing the groups under study, particularly ensuring equitable access to research participation and safeguarding against potential biases.

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In this paper the concepts of general, target and accessible population are explained in response to misconceptions and controversies associated with them, and the fact that the relationships between them have not been explained in the context of qualitative enquiry in any formal study. These concepts are discussed in this study based on a general scenario. We basically attempt to explain the importance of specifying the general, target and accessible populations in a qualitative study when the study population is large. The study depicts how the research goal, contexts and assumptions can dictate the content and concentration of the target and accessible population in qualitative inquiry. It also poses the sampling implications of our explanations and highlights the stages and levels of what we refer to as population refinement.

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Research methods of any postgraduate study entail a description of a population of interest from which the target population and the sample are derived. A clear distinction between these concepts is essential for research studies, but it also extends to academic and business writing. The importance of differentiating between the population and target population in research cannot be overemphasised as these provide a backbone of any research study.

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This research paper offers a thorough examination of the benefits and drawbacks of applying quantitative methods to research in a range of academic fields. The precision, objectivity, and capacity to extrapolate results to larger populations are all provided by quantitative methods. They do, however, also bring with them certain difficulties, such as the need to ensure the validity and reliability of data collection processes and to capture subtle qualitative aspects of phenomena. Through a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative methods, researchers are better equipped to choose their research approaches. Researchers are advised to carefully evaluate research questions, validation methods, and ethical guidelines. To further the field of research methodology, future research directions should concentrate on interdisciplinary collaboration, creative methodologies, and integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches.

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An appropriate sampling technique with the exact determination of sample size involves a very vigorous selection process, which is actually vital for any empirical research. It is obvious that these methodological decisions would greatly affect the internal and external validity and the overall generalizability of the study findings. This paper has comprehensively updated the guidelines on sampling methods and sample size calculation, hence giving enough evidence that will be beneficial in assisting researchers to advance the credibility and statistical power of their research work. The differences between probability sampling techniques, including simple random sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling, and non-probability methods, such as convenience sampling, purposive sampling, and snowball sampling, have been fully explained. Probability is the only that can ensure the generalizability, while non-probability sampling is useful in exploratory situations. Another significant process is the determination of an optimal sample size, which, among other things, has to take into account the total population size, effect size, statistical power, confidence level, and margin of error. The paper contributes both theoretical guidance and practical tools that researchers need in choosing appropriate strategies for sampling and validating methodologically appropriate sample size calculations. In sum, such a paper sets the standard for best practice in research methodology that will drive reliability, validity, and empirical rigor across diverse studies.

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The split of methodology into qualitative and quantitative had all sorts of negative consequences, including the neglecting of some important scientific goals, such as generalizing research results in qualitative studies. Even if they don’t talk about generalizations, many qualitative researchers illegitimately extend their research results to populations much wider than those investigated. The article shows that the generalization of research results (from sample to population) is possible in qualitative research but that it can only be achieved through a sampling procedure that complies with specific rules. The article describes this procedure of internal generalization of results through a logical or scientific inference process. It is a theoretical sampling process in four steps that does not place emphasis on the size of the sample, but on the criteria for choosing the participants and seeks to obtain the generalization of findings following data variations. The procedure offers some advantages such as the transparency of the sampling process, provocative novelties such as the possibility to adjust the research population during the research but has also significant limitations such as the effects generated by the difficulty of anticipating the complexity of the studied phenomena.

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  2. (PDF) CONCEPT OF POPULATION AND SAMPLE

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  3. Population vs. Sample

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  4. Population & Sample

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  5. Importance Of Population And Sample In Research

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VIDEO

  1. LESSON 64

  2. Research Design: Defining your Population and Sampling Strategy

  3. What is Target population and Accessible Population in Research?

  4. How to define your Target Population?

  5. Overview of Quantitative Research Methods

  6. Population Studies

COMMENTS

  1. (PDF) Population and Target Population in Research Methodology

    This paper thoroughly explores the foundational principles governing population and target population concepts within research methodology. It delves into the essential roles these concepts...

  2. (PDF) CONCEPT OF POPULATION AND SAMPLE - ResearchGate

    In other words, a population is a collection of all the units that share the variable characteristic under investigation and for which generalizations from the research can be made.

  3. (PDF) Research Fundamentals: Study Design, Population, and ...

    Population is a complete set of people with specified characteristics [35]. The target population for this study included any of the four key administrators (principal, two deputy...

  4. Describing Populations and Samples in Doctoral Student Research

    The purpose of this article is to present clear definitions of the population structures essential to research, to provide examples of how these structures are described within research, and to propose a basic structure that novice research-ers may use to ensure a clearly and completely defined population of interest and sample from which they w...

  5. UNDERSTANDING POPULATION AND SAMPLE IN RESEARCH: KEY CONCEPTS ...

    In research, the population refers to the entire group of individuals, objects, or events that share a common characteristic and are the focus of the study. It represents the complete set of elements that the researcher aims to study and draw conclusions about (Jilcha Sileyew, 2020; Garg, 2016).

  6. What Is the Big Deal About Populations in Research?

    A population is a complete set of people with specified characteristics, while a sample is a subset of the population. 1 In general, most people think of the defining characteristic of a population in terms of geographic location. However, in research, other characteristics will define a population. Additional defining characteristics may be ...

  7. [PDF] Population and Target Population in Research ...

    This paper thoroughly explores the foundational principles governing population and target population concepts within research methodology. It delves into the essential roles these concepts play in shaping the design and influencing the interpretation of research studies.

  8. (PDF) Population and Target Population in Research ...

    Defining Population and Target Population A population is a cornerstone in research methodology, encapsulating a collective of individuals who exhibit shared characteristics within a defined geographic or institutional domain (MartínezMesa et al., 2016).

  9. Defining the study population: who and why? - ScienceDirect

    What is the study population? The study population is defined as the group identified to answer the research question and ideally, in the setting of a clinical trial, the population most likely to benefit from a proposed intervention. How can the study population be defined?

  10. An Introduction to Research - SAGE Publications Inc

    Population and sample: The population is the group to whom you want to apply your results. The sample is the group that you have chosen from your population from which to collect data. For example, researchers might have access to 3,000 students. Rather than collect data from all 3,000 students, they might choose 300