14 / 762
14
Chapter 1: Introduction and Graphical Displays
Figure 1- 7:
Illustration for a cluster sample
There are some advantages and disadvantages of selecting a cluster sample.
Advantages of a Cluster Sample
It can be cheaper than other methods.
It is practical when dealing with large populations.
Disadvantages of a Cluster Sample
The respondents from within a certain cluster may tend to be more
similar to each other.
Cluster sampling generally provides less accuracy than random
sampling and stratified sampling procedures.
Cluster sampling may produce biased samples especially if one or
more of the clusters are homogenous in an opinion for instance and
this is inferred to the entire population.