In this curricular unit, the fundamental concepts and methods of the Theory of Sampling are introduced and developed. The questionnaire is studied as an instrument for obtaining data as well as its relationship with the statistical variables. Finally, some descriptive and inferential techniques of data analysis are explored using a Statistical Software.
Upon completion of this learning unit, the student should be able to:
- recognise basic elements of sampling theory;
- identify the different sampling plans;
- select the most appropriate sampling technique to a concrete situation, calculate estimates and analyze their quality;
- organize information obtained through a questionnaire and do some exploratory analysis;
- apply at will with a specific analysis software.
1. Sources of Statistical Information.
2. Important concepts in sampling: Population, sample, representative sample.
3. Sampling Techniques. Probabilistic and Non Probabilistic methods.
4. Study of properties of estimators.
5. The Questionnaire. Relationship between the responses and statistical variables.
6. Statistical data analysis using a statistical package.
Materials will be made available by the teacher or accessible in repositories (free for students).
- Vic Barnett, Sample Survey – Principles and Methods, Wiley, 2003.
- Scheaffer, Mandenhall, Ott. Elementary Survey Sampling. Duxbury Press, 6th edition, 2005.
- M. M. Hill, A. Hill. Investigação por Questionário. Edições Sílabo, 2008 or later.
- Paula Vicente. Estudos de Mercado e de Opinião – Princípios e Aplicações de Amostragem. Edições Sílabo. 1st Edition or later editions.
- João Maroco. Análise Estatística com Utilização do SPSS. Edições Sílabo or Ed. ReportNumber.
E-learning (fully online).
Evaluation is made on individual basis and it involves the coexistence of two modes: continuous assessment (60%) and
final evaluation (40%). Further information is detailed in the Learning Agreement of the course unit.
The prerequisites for the monitoring of this course unit are a knowledge of descriptive statistics and statistical inference (basic tests). The Universidade Aberta provides a license to use the software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) at no additional cost to the student if this is the software chosen. Other software will be Open Access.
