representativeness
What representativeness means in Psychology A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of representativeness
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Reference: AQA
The extent to which a sample reflects the population, with stratified sampling offering high representativeness by reflecting the population's exact proportions.
The extent to which a sample reflects the target population, which both random and stratified sampling aim to improve by minimising selection bias.
Lost when participants recruit people similar to themselves, as in snowball sampling.
Topics that use representativeness
- Handling data (AQA A-Level)
- Scientific processes (AQA A-Level)
- Planning and conducting research (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- Counterbalancing
- event sampling
- operationalisation
- order effects
- participant variables
- Random allocation
- time sampling
- Absenteeism and productivity
Using representativeness in the exam
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