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Using the assigned readings as a guide, answer the following question:  How can we take a valid sample in an educational setting?  The thread must use current APA formatting.  Please review the Discussion Assignment InstructionsPreview the document and the Discussion Grading RubricPreview the document prior to posting.  You may also click the three dots in the upper corner to Show Rubric. See the attachments.Respond to the following:When conducting research in an educational setting, it is important that the research lead to conclusions      that are generalizable to the population that is studied. Sampling strategies can impact the generalizability of research findings (Check & Schutt, 2012). As a result, it is important to take a valid sample when conducting educational research. To do so, researchers should consider the following key points:Elements, defined as the individual participants in a research study, should be derived from the population that is the target of the study (Check & Schutt, 2012). If a convenience or availability sample is used, which is sometimes the case because of ease of access, and the participants are not taken from the population that is studied, the sample will be invalid (Check & Schutt, 2012).The sample should represent the population that is studied. To determine whether a sample represents the population, the researcher must have a solid understanding of the nature and characteristics of the population (Check & Schutt, 2012). The characteristics of the population that are most relevant to the study should be identified, and the researcher should ensure that the relevant characteristics appear in the sample to the same degree that they appear in the population. For example, if socio-economic status is determined to be a relevant factor in a study of student reading progress in an urban elementary school and if 60% of the students in the elementary school meet the established definition of poverty, then 60% of the students in the sample must meet the established definition of poverty.Researchers should consider a variety of sampling methods and determine which sampling method is most appropriate for the study that is being undertaken. Simple or systematic random sampling might be appropriate in a study of the academic performance of second grade students in a suburban elementary school. According to these methods, if the sampling frame is complete (that is, it includes all second graders enrolled in the school), all students are equally likely to be chosen for participation. Stratified random sampling might be appropriate in a study of the academic performance of all students in a suburban elementary school. Researchers might categorize students according to their grade level and then draw a random sample of students in each stratum. The number of students selected from each stratum should be proportionate to the size of the population (Check & Schutt, 2012). This method would ensure that students from all grade levels are represented in the sample.Researchers should consider the size of a sample. As a rule, the larger the sample size, the more likely it is that the sample will represent the population (Check & Schutt, 2012).Researchers who are conducting qualitative studies should be purposeful in their sampling method. Convenience or availability sampling generally is not preferred. Quota sampling may be more beneficial than convenience sampling; some characteristics of the population are determined to be important for the study and these characteristics should be represented in the sample to the same degree they are present in the population (Check & Schutt, 2012). Not all characteristics are identified, so it is difficult to know whether the sample is truly representative of the population (Check & Schutt, 2012). Purposive sampling overcomes some of these concerns by ensuring that the elements are knowledgeable about the issue studied, willing to participate, and represent a variety of viewpoints (Check & Schutt, 2012).When these elements are considered, the likelihood that a sample is valid increases. ReferencesCheck, J. & Schutt, R. K. (2012). Research methods in education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

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