Lesson 1.2.2

1.2.2 Target populations, samples and sampling techniques Quiz: OCR Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 1.2.2, Target populations, samples and sampling techniques: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Psychology (H567), Unit 1: Research methods (Component 01), written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What term describes the entire group of people a researcher aims to study and draw conclusions about?

    • Participant panel
    • Sample group
    • Target population
    • Target sample

  2. Which sampling technique gives every member of the target population an equal chance of being selected?

    • Random sampling
    • Systematic sampling
    • Opportunity sampling
    • Stratified sampling

  3. Which sampling technique selects participants who are available and willing at the time of testing?

    • Volunteer sampling
    • Random sampling
    • Opportunity sampling
    • Systematic sampling

  4. Which sampling method relies on participants actively responding to a public advertisement or request?

    • Volunteer sampling
    • Opportunity sampling
    • Random sampling
    • Stratified sampling

  5. Selecting every nth person from an ordered list of the target population is known as what?

    • Cluster sampling
    • Systematic sampling
    • Random sampling
    • Stratified sampling

  6. Which sampling technique reproduces key sub-group proportions from the target population within the sample?

    • Random sampling
    • Opportunity sampling
    • Systematic sampling
    • Stratified sampling

  7. What is the primary methodological disadvantage of using an opportunity sample in research?

    • Too time-consuming
    • High sample bias
    • Very expensive
    • High demand characteristics

  8. What is the primary advantage of obtaining a representative sample in psychological research?

    • Zero demand characteristics
    • Low participant bias
    • High internal validity
    • High generalisability

  9. A researcher stops shoppers outside a local supermarket at 10am. What sampling method is this?

    • Opportunity sampling
    • Stratified sampling
    • Volunteer sampling
    • Systematic sampling

  10. A study places a poster in a library asking for memory experiment participants. What sample is formed?

    • Random sample
    • Opportunity sample
    • Stratified sample
    • Volunteer sample

  11. A researcher uses a random number generator to select student IDs from a school register. Which method is this?

    • Systematic sampling
    • Stratified sampling
    • Random sampling
    • Opportunity sampling

  12. A researcher selects every 5th patient from a hospital admissions list. Which sampling method is being used?

    • Random sampling
    • Stratified sampling
    • Opportunity sampling
    • Systematic sampling

  13. If a population is 60% female and 40% male, a stratified sample of 100 must contain how many females?

    • 40 females
    • 60 females
    • 50 females
    • 100 females

  14. A university researcher recruits participants solely using psychology undergraduates from their own department. What is the major limitation?

    • Ethical breach
    • Unrepresentative sample
    • Low reliability
    • Observer bias

  15. A researcher posts a public survey link on Twitter. What type of bias is most likely to occur?

    • Observer bias
    • Experimenter bias
    • Social desirability
    • Volunteer bias

  16. A population has 1000 people. A researcher needs a sample of 50 using systematic sampling. What is the interval?

    • Every 50th person
    • Every 10th person
    • Every 20th person
    • Every 5th person

  17. Which sampling method guarantees that specific sub-groups within a population are proportionately represented?

    • Systematic sampling
    • Random sampling
    • Cluster sampling
    • Stratified sampling

  18. Why might a small random sample still fail to be representative of the target population?

    • Random chance error
    • Demand characteristics
    • Low ecological validity
    • Experimenter bias

  19. Which term describes the actual subgroup of the target population selected to take part in research?

    • Sample
    • Control group
    • Sampling frame
    • Population parameter

  20. What is the main practical drawback of using stratified sampling compared to opportunity sampling?

    • Time-consuming
    • Unrepresentative data
    • High investigator bias
    • Low internal validity

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