1. Pick one or more of the sampling frames listed in Box IV.2. Discuss the adequacy of these lists in covering the populations concerned. What omissions are there likely to be? What problems of access might there be in getting these lists, and in approaching people listed on them? What stratifying factors are likely to be present and useful for each sampling frame?

• Covering the general population: Register of electors; telephone directory; birth certificates; death certificates.
• Covering institutions: Directory of universities, schools or colleges; health services directory; directory of penal institutions.
• Covering professional groups: Medical directory; registers of psychologists, nurses, osteopaths; register of chartered surveyors.
• Some other groups: A university department’s list of students attending a course; hospital admissions daily log book; a school register of pupils; an employer’s records of employees; a solicitor’s records of clients.

2. Imagine that you are engaged in a small-scale interviewing survey, designed to discover how people feel about balancing the demands of home life with those of their work life. You have the resources to interview about 20 people. How would you select people to interview?

3. Design a sampling strategy that would help answer the following research questions

• What is the prevalence of euthanasia in the UK?
• How do school pupils approach their homework?
• What needle sharing practices occur between injecting drug users?
• Does socio-economic status influence educational achievement?
• How has the public image of politicians changed over the past 20 years?