Free comments on saras answers essay example

Sara chose Case B – Grover’s Corner Department of Transportation, which tasked Larry, a research and program evaluation specialist, to come up with an assessment of customer satisfaction regarding the improvement the department did in terms of individual stations.
Contrary to Sara’s answer (Simple Random Sample Design), I think that Larry used a non-probability sampling method with his use of a convenience sample and not a simple random sample design that utilizes a probability sample. This is because he made use of a readily available list of monthly pass users. In addition, by not going for the whole population of commuters, he left out a whole segment of their market (those who do not use a monthly pass). This method will not yield a representative sample to reflect the assessment needed. Getting just a convenience sample would have worked if his objective was to just get a preliminary impression of the commuters regarding the improvements the department made. However, in the case description, this was clearly not the case asked for. The case asked for a general overview of what the commuters think, be it be monthly pass users or otherwise.
Moreover, the case stated that Larry had a large enough research budget. With a sufficient research budget, he could afford to generate a probability sample and not just rely on a convenience sample, which, among its other advantages, is generally less expensive to generate. What he should have done was to go beyond the list and efficiently identify the population of interest before proceeding to getting the random samples. Using a convenience sample has several disadvantages. The most critical of which is the fact that a research based on it will not yield the most precise and representative view of the population. This, in this case, is essential; as the department will utilize this data further to help develop future strategies that will have an impact on the department’s future strategies.