Assignment task:
If I were conducting a patient satisfaction survey at my healthcare facility using systematic sampling, I would first need a list of all patients who were treated during the specified time frame for the survey. This could be all patients discharged within the last month, for example. Then, I would determine the desired sample size. Let's say I want to survey 200 patients out of a total patient population of 1000. I would calculate the sampling interval by dividing the total population size (1000) by the desired sample size (200), which equals 5. I would then randomly select a starting point within the first 5 patients on the list. For example, if I randomly select the 3rd patient, that patient would be the first participant in my sample. From there, I would select every 5th patient on the list until I reach my desired sample size of 200.
A key strength of systematic sampling is its simplicity and ease of implementation. It's often more efficient than simple random sampling, especially when dealing with large populations, as it avoids the need to randomly select each individual separately (Creswell & Creswell, 2020). In the patient satisfaction survey context, this means I don't have to randomly pick 200 separate patient files; I just select every 5th one after a random start. This can save significant time and effort. It can also be more representative than cluster sampling if the list from which the sample is drawn is itself randomly ordered or contains no inherent groupings.
Systematic sampling also has weaknesses. If there is a cyclical pattern in the list of patients that coincides with the sampling interval, it can lead to a biased sample. For example, if patients are listed in order of admission, and admissions tend to be higher on certain days of the week, and the sampling interval is related to that cycle, the sample might over-represent or under-represent patients admitted on those days. This could skew the results of the patient satisfaction survey (Fowler, 2024). In our example, if every 5th patient happened to be admitted on a Monday, and Mondays are busier with more complex cases, the sample would be biased toward more complex cases, potentially leading to lower satisfaction scores. It's crucial to be aware of any potential patterns in the data list before using systematic sampling. Comment discusses and gives references. Need Assignment Help?