A developmental psychologist wants to study memory changes in elderly adults. If she decides to recruit participants from an introductory psychology course because they are physically nearby and readily willing, apply your knowledge of convenience sampling to explain why this sampling choice fails to meet the study's needs.
Question: A developmental psychologist wants to study memory changes in elderly adults. If she decides to recruit participants from an introductory psychology course because they are physically nearby and readily willing, apply your knowledge of convenience sampling to explain why this sampling choice fails to meet the study's needs.
Sample answer: This convenience sample of introductory psychology students is physically nearby and readily willing, but they do not represent the target population of elderly adults. Because this sample is not representative of the target population, it is problematic to generalize the findings to elderly adults, failing to meet the study's needs.
Key points:
- Applies the concept of convenience sampling to the recruitment of introductory psychology students.
- Notes that the students are chosen because they are physically nearby and willing.
- Points out that introductory psychology students do not represent the target population of elderly adults.
- Concludes that the lack of representation makes it problematic to generalize findings to the target population.
Rubric: The response must apply convenience sampling concepts to show that: 1) introductory psychology students are recruited because they are nearby and willing, 2) they do not represent the target population (elderly adults), and 3) findings cannot be generalized to that target population.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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