Multi-stage Sampling

Abstract

Multi-stage sampling (also known as multi-stage cluster sampling) is a more complex form of cluster sampling which contains two or more stages in sample selection. In simple terms, in multi-stage sampling large clusters of population are divided into smaller clusters in several stages in order to make primary data collection more manageable. It has to be acknowledged that multi-stage sampling is not as effective as true random sampling; however, it addresses certain disadvantages associated with true random sampling such as being overly expensive and time-consuming.