Lesson 3.1.4.3.1

3.1.4.3.1 Target populations, samples and how to select them Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 4

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.4.3.1, Target populations, samples and how to select them: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Psychology (8182), Unit 4: Research methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a target population in psychological research?

    • The small group of people who actually take part in the study and complete the tasks
    • The group of people who pay for the research and decide what the study should measure
    • The group of people who run the study and collect the data from the participants
    • The whole group of people that the researcher wants to draw conclusions about

  2. What is a sample in psychological research?

    • The entire group the researcher wants to generalise to, including everyone in the population
    • The smaller group of people selected from the target population to take part
    • The results of the study once they have been collected and analysed by the researcher
    • The list of questions used in the study that participants answer during the session

  3. Why do researchers select a sample rather than testing the whole target population?

    • Samples always give more accurate results than populations in every study
    • Testing the whole population is usually impractical or too costly
    • Samples are required by law for every study that is carried out
    • Populations are not allowed to take part in any form of research at all

  4. A researcher wants to know about all 16-year-old students in a country. Which is the target population?

    • All 16-year-old students in the country
    • The questions that are asked in the study
    • The teachers who supervise the study
    • The 50 students in one school who take part

  5. A researcher tests 60 students from one school in order to draw conclusions about all 16-year-old students. Which is the sample?

    • The national exam board
    • The teachers at the school
    • All 16-year-old students in the country
    • The 60 students from one school

  6. Why is it important that a sample represents the target population?

    • So that the researcher can avoid writing a hypothesis before the study is carried out
    • So that conclusions drawn from the sample can be generalised to the population
    • So that the sample can be given extra rewards for taking part in the study over the year
    • So that the sample can be used in every future study without any further recruitment at all

  7. Which problem arises if the sample is very different from the target population?

    • The findings may not generalise to the population the researcher wanted to study
    • The findings will always be more accurate because the sample is so different from the population
    • The sample becomes the new target population for all future research in the area
    • The study no longer needs a hypothesis because the sample has already shown the result

  8. Which of the following is the most accurate description of generalisation in research?

    • Applying findings from a sample to the wider target population
    • Testing the same sample many times in the same way for consistency
    • Writing the hypothesis in a more general way so it covers more cases
    • Choosing participants who all share the same features and background

  9. A study on memory uses only students who volunteer. What is a possible problem with the sample?

    • Volunteers always have better memories than everyone else in the population being studied
    • Volunteers make the sample bigger than the population, which distorts the results of the study
    • Volunteers remove the need for a target population because they are already the group studied
    • Volunteers may differ from the target population, so the results may not generalise

  10. Which term describes the group that a sample is drawn from?

    • The independent variable
    • The sampling frame
    • The dependent variable
    • The null hypothesis

  11. Which statement best describes how the target population should be defined?

    • Using clear characteristics such as age, location or school year
    • Using a vague description such as 'people in general'
    • Using only the characteristics the researcher finds easiest to measure
    • Using whatever participants happen to be available that day

  12. A researcher's sample has more women than men, but the target population is evenly split. What problem does this create?

    • The sample may not represent the population, so the results may be biased
    • The sample is more accurate because it has more women than men in it
    • The sample is automatically representative because it is larger than usual
    • The target population is now women only and so the study is invalid

  13. Which is the best example of a target population for a study on adult sleep patterns?

    • All adults aged 18 and over in a particular country
    • Only the adults in a single family
    • Ten adults who sleep in the researcher's office
    • Any person who happens to answer a survey on the internet

  14. Why might a researcher need to decide on the sample size before starting?

    • To plan the resources and to make sure the sample is large enough to be useful
    • So that the hypothesis can be written after the data have been collected
    • So that the study can avoid having a target population at all for analysis
    • So that participants can be told how many others are in the study group

  15. Which description best matches the sample in a study?

    • The group of participants that actually completes the study
    • The entire population of the country that the researcher wants to say something about overall
    • The list of ethical guidelines that the researcher must read and follow before starting work
    • The experimental design used by the researcher to decide which condition each person joins

  16. What is the main link between a target population and a sample?

    • The sample and target population are always identical
    • The sample is drawn from the target population
    • The target population is chosen after the sample is tested
    • The target population is drawn from the sample

  17. A researcher wants to study first-year university students but only tests students in one lecture. What is the most likely issue?

    • The sample is identical to the target population in every way
    • The study has no dependent variable at all for the first-years
    • The sample may not represent all first-year students
    • The sample is larger than the target population of the study

  18. Which of the following groups is most likely to be a good sample for a study on children aged 8 to 10?

    • Teenagers who are already in secondary school and older than the group
    • Only children from one family who are all exactly the same age
    • Adults who remember being 8 to 10 years old when they were at school
    • Children aged 8 to 10 selected from several schools across a region

  19. Why do researchers consider sampling methods before collecting data?

    • Because the method decides the hypothesis for the study
    • Because the method guarantees that the results will be significant
    • Because the method affects how representative the sample will be
    • Because the method removes the need for a target population

  20. Which statement about target populations and samples is most accurate?

    • A target population is a subset of the sample selected for the study
    • A sample is a subset of the target population selected for the study
    • A sample is always larger than the target population
    • A sample and a target population mean exactly the same thing

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