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Sample Sizes Calculation

The document discusses sample size estimation and includes information about margin of error, confidence level, z-score, and population proportion which are key factors in determining sample size. It also provides examples and explanations of margin of error, z-scores, and how to use a z-table.

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Newhame Dagne
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12 views

Sample Sizes Calculation

The document discusses sample size estimation and includes information about margin of error, confidence level, z-score, and population proportion which are key factors in determining sample size. It also provides examples and explanations of margin of error, z-scores, and how to use a z-table.

Uploaded by

Newhame Dagne
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sample Size Estimation

 Margin of error: The margin of error is how much you can expect your
results to differ from the population of interest. Measured as a percentage, a
smaller margin of error increases the chance that your results will be close to
that of the population. Both 5% and 10% are commonly used margins of
error. However, lower margin of errors will increase your sample sizes.
 Confidence level: The confidence level is a percentage the represents how
confident you can be that the true percentage of a population (i.e., a
measured value, such as participant responses to a survey question) falls
within the margin of error. This value is usually 95%, but 90% and 99% are
also common. Larger confidence levels will increase your sample sizes.
 z-score: A z-score is a value that determines how far a measured value is
from the population value. z-scores can be determined from the confidence
level using z-score tables (see Z Score Table for more information).
 Population proportion: The population proportion is the percentage of the
population that has a specific characteristic. This proportion is usually
determined from previous studies or research. Although, when unsure, using
50% works as an estimate. That is, 50% of the population falls below a
specific point and 50% falls above a specific point.

Margin of error 2% means the real value is within ±2% of the measured/surveyed value.

z-score
A z-score is a statistical measure that tells us how many standard deviations a data
point is from the mean of a dataset. The z-score is obtained by taking the difference
between the data point and the mean, and dividing it by the standard deviation.
Example
200 applicants took a math test. George was among the test takers and he got 700 points
(X) out of 1000. The average score was 600 (µ) and the standard deviation was 150 ( σ).
Now we would like to know how well George performed compared to his peers.

We need to standardize his score (i.e. calculate a z-score corresponding to his actual
test score) and use a z-table to determine how well he did on the test relative to his
peers. In order to derive the z-score we need to use the following formula:
Therefore: Z score = (700-600) / 150 = 0.67
Now, in order to figure out how well George did on the test we need to determine the
percentage of his peers who go higher and lower scores. That’s where z-table (i.e.
standard normal distribution table) comes handy. If you noticed there are two z-tables
with negative and positive values. If a z-score calculation yields a negative standardized
score refer to the 1st table, when positive used the 2nd table. For George’s example we
need to use the 2nd table as his test result corresponds to a positive z-score of 0.67.

Finding a corresponding probability is fairly easy. Find the first two digits on the y axis
(0.6 in our example). Then go to the x axis to find the second decimal number (0.07 in
this case). The number is 0.7486. Multiply this number by 100 to get percentages. So
0.7486 x 100 = 74.86%. This means that almost 75% of the students scored lower than
George and only 25% scored higher. 75% out of 200 students is 150. George did better
than 150 students.

93.57% = 94% of the students scored lower than Deksiyos and only 6% scored higher
A standard deviation (or σ) is a measure of how dispersed the data is
in relation to the mean. Low, or small, standard deviation indicates
data are clustered tightly around the mean, and high, or large,
standard deviation indicates data are more spread out.

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