Section outline

  • Lecture Goals

    This lecture aims to enable graduate students in Special Education to:

    1. Understand the concept of the research population and its role in determining the scope and validity of empirical studies in the field of special education.

    2. Differentiate between types of research populations (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous) and identify examples relevant to diverse disability categories.

    3. Recognize what constitutes a study sample and the scientific principles governing its selection.

    4. Identify the characteristics of a good sample, including representativeness, appropriate size, and scientific selection procedures.

    5. Analyze common methodological errors related to sampling in special-education research.

    6. Apply the stages of selecting a research sample, from defining the population to determining sample size, within real cases involving children with disabilities, teachers, and families.

    7. Evaluate sampling techniques and justify the use of specific sampling methods (random, stratified, purposive, etc.) based on the nature of the special-education population.