Accidental sampling

Convenience sampling (also known as grab sampling, accidental sampling, or opportunity sampling) is a type of non-probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close to hand. This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing. Convenience sampling (also known as grab sampling, accidental sampling, or opportunity sampling) is a type of non-probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close to hand. This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing. A convenience sample is a type of non-probability sampling method where the sample is taken from a group of people easy to contact or to reach. For example, standing at a mall or a grocery store and asking people to answer questions would be an example of a convenience sample. This type of sampling is also known as grab sampling or availability sampling. There are no other criteria to the sampling method except that people be available and willing to participate. In addition, this type of sampling method does not require that a simple Random sample is generated, since the only criteria is whether the participants agree to participate. Convenience sampling is not often recommended for research due to the possibility of sampling error and lack of representation of population. But it can be handy depending on the situation. In some situations, convenience sampling is the only possible option. For example, a college student who is doing a term project and wants to know the average consumption of coke in that college town on Friday night will most probably call some of his friends and ask them how many cans of coke they drink, or go to a nearby party to do an easy survey. There is always a trade-off between this method of quick sampling and accuracy. Collected samples may not represent the population of interest and therefore be a source of bias. In the example above, if said college town has a small population and mostly consists of students, and that particular student chooses a graduation party for survey, then his sample has a fair chance to represent the population. Larger sample size will reduce the chance of sampling error occurring. Another example would be a gaming company that wants to know how one of their games is doing in the market one day after its release. Its analyst may choose to create an online survey on Facebook to rate that game. The major challenge of this approach will be reaching to the people who play games. As social media is a vast place, it's always difficult to collect samples from the population of interest. Most people may not be interested or take the survey seriously while completing it, which results in sampling error. The survey may be improved greatly if the analyst posts it to fan pages dedicated to game-lovers. He may find a lot more people in that group who would be inclined to judge and rate the game critically. Convenience sampling can be used by almost anyone and has been around for generations. One of the reasons that it is most often used is due to the numerous advantages it provides. This method is extremely speedy, easy, readily available, and cost effective, causing it to be an attractive option to most researchers. Expedited data collection When time is of the essence, many researchers turn to convenience sampling for data collection, as they can swiftly gather data and begin their calculations. It is useful in time sensitive research because very little preparation is needed to use convenience sampling for data collection. It is also useful when researchers need to conduct pilot data collection in order to gain a quick understanding of certain trends or to develop hypotheses for future research. By rapidly gathering information, researchers and scientists can isolate growing trends, or extrapolate generalized information from local public opinion. Ease of research