Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

4.3.3 Sampling frame

A sampling frame is a list of the sampling units together with other information

which enables a fair sample to be drawn. The main requirement here is that each of

the sampling units must have an equal chance of being part of the survey. This is

achievable in the situation where the names and addresses of all customers are

known, in that the total number is known and checks can be made to ensure that no

name is duplicated or omitted. However, as mentioned in the 

previous section

, there

are often situations where it is not possible to construct a truly complete sampling

frame. It is worth considering why this may be the case before some solutions as to

how to cope with the problem are put forward.