What Is Convenience Sampling?

Convenience sampling is a method in research where you will do sampling in the best way that is convenient for you. This includes using respondents that will be convenient to have. For example, if a non-profit organization wants to establish its organization in 20 cities, it will do this in cities that are near it. This way, it will not have difficulties establishing the organization.

There are convenience sampling limitations that you have to consider. One type of convenience sampling is non-probability convenience sampling. This is where you can choose units from a population in a subjective method. Another type is convenience random sampling, where you will choose a sample from your resources randomly. Convenience sampling is a good sampling method like purposive sampling. Convenience and purposive sampling both can give you convenience when doing research. It is because, in purposive sampling, you are going to use samples that already have the characteristics that you need. If you do a comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling, you can be sure that you can like convenience sampling better. This is because of the perfect convenience of convenience sampling that can be provided to your research.

Advantages of Convenience Sampling

The benefits of convenience sampling are obvious. Everything can be easier with our research by using it. The advantages of convenience sampling can enable us to do a better job because we are not going to experience any difficulties. Whether you are going to make a convenience sampling in qualitative research or a convenience sampling in quantitative research, indeed, you will not sweat when doing both works. Below are some of the advantages of convenience sampling.

Saves Time and Effort: A convenience sampling example thesis can be great because you are going to save your time and effort. This is because you use things that will be convenient for you. You do not have to spend too much time finding respondents for your market research or project research. Finding respondents may be time-consuming. Especially, if you have to get a considerably big number of respondents. By convenience sampling, you will have the resources that are readily available to you. Considering proximity and other convenient factors, you know you will not face hard problems in getting respondents and samples. This will be very good for researchers who are busy and only have little time to find respondents.Saves Money: Convenience sampling can be cheaper than any other sampling method. With proximity, you can be sure that you do not have to go far and spend some money just to have a sampling. Research can be costly because of the resources that you are going to use. You can save a lot in convenience sampling because the samples that you are going to use are readily available and you do not have to undergo a lot of things and spend just to have your resources. So, this method is good for students who are having their thesis. We know that in graduate research, students may not have the means to support expensive research. With convenience sampling, they can be helped to have good research without spending a lot of money.Immediate Data Available: In convenience sampling, information can be immediately available to you. It will be easy to get the answers that you need. You just have to ask questions and you can have the most convenient way to get answers. This is because you have chosen the right resources that are convenient for you. There is no need for you to experience any hassles. No challenges can come your way that can hinder your work. Conducting surveys in less than minutes can be possible for you. Even if you only have a day for the survey, you know that you can finish everything. Doing multiple simultaneous studies is easy. You can get the immediate responses and feedback evaluation that you need. So, how can you go for other methods when you know that you can have the data immediately with convenience sampling?Having Freedom: There are a few rules that need to be followed in convenience sampling. You are free to choose the way that you want in getting samples. In any research implementation, there can be rules that you need to adhere to for you to make good research. But this is not a problem with convenience sampling. You can have your efforts to meet your needs. Tailoring the way you can collect data will be easy. Because convenience is the main goal, you will surely have an easy way of how you are going to do things. Having freedom in everything is important. We can work freely and nothing can hinder us. We do not have to worry about a lot of things. So, we can have work that will never stress us.Having a Wealth of Information: Your chance to gather data will not be limited when you use convenience sampling. Because the resources are just near you, you will have all the time to ask questions. Through this, it will be possible for you to get a flux of data. You know that what you can gather will be sufficient for your needs. Unlike stratified sampling where you can get data out of diversity, the information that you can get in convenience sampling is more secure and definite. Because of this, you will not have any difficulties in analyzing all the samples. When you have a wealth of information, it will be easier for you to make observations and conclusions. Better recommendations can be made. A better outcome of your research will happen because you have a lot of data that you can present in your research.Validity of the Research: In convenience sampling, you acknowledge the shortcomings that you can have. This improves the validity of your research. Many issues can affect the feasibility of your research. You know there can be a potential bias in your research. When a feasibility study will be made, bias can be reduced by using the right parameters. Not because your resources are limited, it can also mean that your research is not valid. Besides, your acknowledgment of shortcomings proves that your research is feasible.Easier to Collect Data: It is much easier to gather data in convenience sampling. In all types of convenience sampling, you can find ease in gathering samples. There can be no need to worry about the disadvantages of convenience sampling when you know that you can have all you need. Sometimes, it can be the first thing that we can think about when we are doing research. Resources are very important to secure the work that we are going to do. So, the ease of collecting data is a great advantage. Convenience sampling in research examples proves that collecting data is very convenient. This is the main goal of this method so if your objective is to find data easily, then you do not have to look further for any method. Do convenience sampling.Good for Initial Research: For beginners or small research, convenience sampling is good. If you are not yet familiar with the target audience, this method is recommended. This is if you still have no idea about the thoughts and values of your audience. Samples from convenient sources can be advisable because you will have initial resources that can lead you to know everything about your topic. Not only that the method is convenient, but you can find it easy to analyze everything. So, for beginners, your research can be possible with the help of convenience sampling.Correction of Dissatisfaction: Unsatisfactory experience can be intervened with convenience sampling. More often, this surveys negative experiences. So, people will have the chance to express what they feel about something. They can have the hope that their bad experiences will have solutions in the future. This can make anyone happy, knowing that others will not have to face the same experience. This is some sort of feedback form where people can speak their minds and find new things that can solve their concerns.

How to Conduct Convenience Sampling

For anyone who would like to have ease in research, convenience sampling may be the answer. But how can we conduct convenience sampling? What are the things that we need to do? The following are the steps that you can take in doing convenience sampling:

1. Use Methodology

To begin with, you should have a good methodology for your research. Describe how you are going to get respondents. Consider the factor why it is going to be convenient for you to use these resources. Prepare for the methodology section of your research paper.

2. Collect Data

After you know how you are going to gather data, you can start collecting the data that you need. Be sure to get the right resources for your research. Get as many respondents as you can get. When you have more samples, your research can be better. If needed, determine the appropriate sample size.

3. Distribute Surveys

Get a good schedule for you to distribute your surveys. Choose an appropriate date and time. If possible, you can use different methods for you to have a better observation. One that you can use is the descriptive analysis method.

4. Compare Findings

After you already have the samples you need, you can start to have your observation. Compare your findings. Analyze all the samples to come up with a good conclusion. After that, make good recommendations for your research.

FAQs

What are the disadvantages of convenience sampling?

The disadvantages of convenience sampling are not having a representative result, having the chance of false data, not understanding the specificity, having the chance of replicating the results, the possibility of bias in the sampling technique, not identifying subgroup differences, and having problems with dependence.

How can I avoid bias in convenience sampling?

To avoid bias in convenience sampling, use convenience sampling with probability sampling. You will have the parameter to check the bias. A more accurate estimation is possible. Through probability sampling, you can have a powerful tool to overcome any bias in convenience sampling.

What are the ways to analyze data in convenience sampling?

The ways to analyze data in convenience sampling are cross-validating the data, taking multiple samples, and repeating the survey.

What are the uses of convenience sampling?

The uses of convenience sampling are determining the next steps, measuring awareness, knowing customer values, and measuring the interests of people.

Convenience sampling will be very useful for anyone who wants to explore their topics. Any business can have a good approach to getting information. It has great convenience compared to other methods. Though sometimes, the credibility of your data may be questioned. But it is up to you to reduce sampling errors and gather samples that will benefit your research.