Like we said in Lesson 29, sampling is one of the critique decision that a researcher needs to make. This is because without an adequate sample who will respond to the research instruments, then the researcher cannot answer the research problem.

Quantitative research is that type of research which collects numerical data. We discussed Quantitative research in Lesson 12-19. Sampling in quantitative research uses Probability, random or quantitative sampling techniques.

This lesson is going to discuss random or probability sampling technique. This type of sampling allows each and every member of the population the chance to be selected as a sample. That is why it is called probability. In addition, the selection of the sample is random meaning that the selection is dependent on randomness.

For you to select the sample randomly, a researcher must generate random numbers. These are the numbers that determines who will be selected and who will not be selected. By this, we mean those who will take part in the study and those who will not. There are manual and electronic methods of generating random numbers. This lesson will take you through how to use the internet to generate random numbers.