Case Study: Examining Populations and Samples in Research

A nurse researcher who is a faculty member in a university setting has been hearing students who are struggling academically describe during counseling sessions the difficulties they are experiencing in balancing school and parenting responsibilities. The researcher believes that the descriptions of the difficulties students relate appear to be different depending on their gender. This leads the researcher to question if there is a difference between students who are mothers and students who are fathers in how they balance school and parenthood responsibilities and if these differences affect the support each group needs to manage their responsibilities successfully. The researcher decides to investigate this issue by undertaking a study exploring the relationship between fulfilling parenting responsibilities and academic success.

Question 1

What is the population?

Question 2

Who would comprise the accessible population?

Question 3

Outline potential inclusion criteria for this study.

Question 4

If the researcher conducted a quantitative study, what sampling methods would be most effective to use to obtain a representative sample? How would the researcher determine sample size?

Question 5

Describe how the researcher would determine sample size.

Question 6

If the researcher decided to use qualitative methodology to examine the experience of balancing parenting responsibilities with being a full-time student, what sampling method would be most effective for the researcher to use?