Welcome to Introduction to Sampling for Quantitative Surveys!

In this 4-hour interactive course, you will go through the entire sampling design process for quantitative surveys, from developing your sampling frame to drawing your sample. 

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Develop a good sampling frame for your survey;
  • Determine and accurately calculate the sample size;
  • Select the most appropriate sampling strategy for your context; and
  • Draw your sample using any of the five commonly used sampling strategies.

Developed by IDEAL based on USAID's various sampling guidance, the course is generally applicable regardless of donor. All examples refer to food security and nutrition, but the procedures, tools, and techniques are applicable to any sector.

A person with a thinking bubble
Is this course for me?
This course is designed for both development and humanitarian practitioners. While sampling is generally carried out by evaluators and M&E professionals, this course is open to all who are interested. 

Some familiarity with sampling is helpful, but there are no prerequisites for completing the modules. 

A person with a lightbulb over their head
How will I benefit from this course?
You can benefit in many ways, depending on your situation! Here are some examples:
  • You can improve your overall understanding of sampling by going through all four modules. 
  • If you just want a refresher on a specific topic, you can skip ahead to the relevant module. 
  • If you are currently working on a survey or study and have chosen your sampling strategy, you can jump to that lesson to learn how to draw your sample.
A clock showing 15 minutes passing
How long will it take?
 This course should take about 4 hours to complete. 

Three stacks of coins with a question mark on the top
How much does it cost?
 This course is free!

A certificate scroll with a rosette on it
Will I get a certificate at the end?
 Yes, you will be able to download a certificate once you have completed all the modules in the course.

The word START and a question mark in a circleHow do I get started?
 Scroll to the top of the page and click on the  I agree - join course  button. This will take you through to the course content. You don't need to complete the course all at once - you can always pick up where you left off later.

For additional Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) resources, visit the FSN Network's M&E Collections page

Disclaimer

This e-course was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Implementer-led Design, Evidence, Analysis, and Learning (IDEAL) Activity and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.

IDEAL is funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), which contributes to the U.S. Government's goal of improving food and nutrition security among the world's most vulnerable households and communities. IDEAL strengthens the capacity of the food security community to deliver emergency and non-emergency food security activities that achieve results.


Data Protection and Consent


This course was created and is administered by IDEAL. By joining this course you are consenting to IDEAL being given access to your Kaya profile information, including your name and email address, so that they can provide the course. This may require them to contact you. Your data will be anonymized before it is used for any analysis or reporting purposes. If you have any questions about this, please email info@fsnnetwork.org.