Estimating Sample Size Using Excel

[@ashleymogle2700]

Again, I am just amazed that there is a formula you can use in order to calculate the desired sample size for a particular study. This is so useful in helping researchers execute the best study possible. Also, not one of the main points, but you mentioned how you don't want to use a sample size too big because it can be a waste of resources. I never really thought about that and just always assumed the larger the sample, the better. You raised a very practical point that I will remember when evaluating future research.

[@cassiemclaughlin9489]

By far this is the video that I found most useful. I have heard mixed opinions on sample size and was under the false pretense that the bigger the sample size the better or more reliable the study. I have found that this is untrue and that the equation used above is the best way to calculate sample size. I used this to estimate the sample size of the population I am currently researching. Thanks!

[@ericahammond9901]

I appreciate how in the video Dr. Grande not only explains how to estimate sample size, but he also provides definitions and explains all of the concepts that go along with understanding sample size.

[@rebeccameece013]

I don't remember calculating sample sizes when I took this class at my undergrad but I was happy to watch this video to get a better understanding of it, because I am sure I just forgot how to do it. Alpha confused me a bit, so I agree with others when they say this may need to be a talking point in class to further discuss. Seeing the formula right in front of us is a great visual tool.

[@laurynmoffa]

I'm glad this video is available to us because it helped me understand the importance of a sample size in social science research. It is also news to me that in the social sciences, we want to aim for as confidence level of 95%. I appreciate learning that information to improve my social science research knowledge.

[@jhoward1129]

Excel seems pretty straightforward the more I watch these videos. I had never thought about estimating sample size, but this does make logical sense. It seems Excel can do pretty much anything one would need in research. A larger sample size seems better, but it also has to be reasonable. This is a good tool that I had never thought about before.

[@davidtullio1843]

Thank you for the simple and straght-forward answer Dr. Grande. I appreciate how you broke down the data entry points so they were easily understandable.

[@rachelnewberry1089]

I remember doing similar problems when I took a research class in my undergrad classes. However, I wish I had watched these videos then. I really appreciate how you broke down the numbers. I can see how its just a matter of plugging in the numbers where they belong. Thank you for this video!

[@amandavalentino8182]

Dr. Grande- Thank you for the information about estimating the correct sample size while using Excel. It was important to note that a sample size too small it will not give the right results and a larger sample size could offset. Thank you for showing me these easy steps on how to estimate the sample size.

[@aussiebreezekorb8877]

I would have never thought that I could find a sample size needed in this way. Interesting! So helpful, I am sure, for researchers who are not having to grasp at straws to get an appropriate sample size for their study.

[@karasullivan7919]

This aspect of research is quite significant. This video was helpful in determining the most appropriate sample size to get accurate data.

[@rosasutton8472]

I can understand why you would want to estimate your sample size and I appreciate that you can use Excel to help with it. This is definitely a helpful tip and tool to use and I believe it will be helpful to us students for our research projects and in future research.

[@monicaperry13]

This video helped me to understand more clearly the relationship between the confidence level, standard deviation, error, and sample size. Interesting how the sample size can decrease or increase dramatically with a few changes.

[@lizconnor1820]

While reading the text on qualitative and quantitative sampling, I was wondering how a researcher might determine the appropriate sample size for their study so I thought this video was really helpful in this respect. I thought this video also did a good job demonstrating how the sample size changes based on the changes in standard deviation, confidence level, etc. As I was slightly confused about that while reading, this video cleared quite a bit up for me.

[@cardinalgrad11]

It was very helpful to see how lower 3 factors were achieved and how changing the z-score, alpha, and error altered the sample size requirements. I had never thought of having the ability to decide a sample size as I have always worked with convenience samples. Very helpful video.

[@cassieperoulis4881]

+Ashley Kilpatrick I agree with you, at first I was a little confused on the changing of the z-score and alpha and how it altered the sample size, but I had to rewind it a couple times and then understood a little better.

[@latinafortruth430]

So much better than my book, videos and resources provided in my stupid class. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You are so calm and go straight to the point. I don't get why some teacher try to make it more complicated than it is... :(

[@rhondabaileyyy]

I agree that he makes things easier to understand.

[@mirandat1087]

I didn't know that there was a specific formula to estimate sample size. This is a fantastic research tool.

[@karaannsullivan2363]

Miranda, I was unaware of this formula for sample size estimations as well. This will help when I am trying to compute the data for my research proposal.

[@amandachaffin6636]

It is nice to have a tool to estimate sample size. When decreasing the error drastically changed the sample size. I like that you can manipulate the error to to find a more realistic sample size.

[@RyanPclifton]

i found this video to be very useful and informative. Looking back, I feel as though i learn more about statistics through these videos than i ever did in previous statistics courses. These videos also help me make sense of potential studies i may choose to do in the future as well as helping me understand process involved in collecting data.

[@mandabear52289]

I think that this video was pretty straight forward and easy to follow. I loved that the formula was right there so we could see how the calculation would be done by hand and how it related to what we were doing in Excel. I think that this would be great to know and use if we were going to be doing an actual research study for our paper. However, I think that it is still helpful in that we can see what kind of sample size would be necessary if we were to do it in real life.

[@CandyKaneLane]

Mandy Moore I think this would be a useful tool to use if we were conducting a research study in which we needed to find the appropriate sample size in which we should use. You mentioned it relates to what we are doing in excel, I think it relates to what we are learning in the excel videos, however, since we are not actually using excel in class it makes it a little confusing for me.

[@E2M5I0L4Y]

Mandy Moore Yes, I had no idea how to determine an appropriate sample size previously.

[@robertodonati1037]

This video clearly explain the best way to find out the appropriate to our research it is essential.Being able to estimate which sample size would be needed would lead us to a successful research

[@dHunter94]

Having watched these videos puts a lot of things I remember from my undergrad education in great perspective. I wish I had been able to watch these as a supplement to what I was learning because I feel as if I would have been able to grasp the concepts much better.

[@kristinblake9294]

These videos would have been very helpful in undergrad because the visuals and walk through help bring all the information together. I'm glad that I was able to recall the terms and follow along with the process.

[@MichaelSmith-jd5ki]

This video is going to come in super handy as I move forward on my research paper. Setting the sample size is something that I really hadn't considered, but having a formula to figure out the optimum sample size is great

[@rachelfoster5463]

Michael Smith I definitely think this video will benefit us in writing our paper. Research is so technical and specific that it will be great to have a tool to calculate the sample size that is sufficient for each of our studies.

[@chelseydavis4989]

This video was helpful in my research paper to give me a more applicable understanding of sample size and the purpose of the correct sample size.

[@E2M5I0L4Y]

I never quite understood how to determine a sample size, so this video was helpful in grasping the statistics behind sample size. Although this is a trivial point from the video, I never knew that there was a roundup function for excel. This is useful since there cannot be a fraction of a person.

[@zureezee1887]

This video was easy to follow a long, it was helpful in visually seeing the changes in the sample size when a change is made in the standard deviation, error or confidence level. I thought it is well explained and is not confusing.

[@tammywitzke6642]

I agree with Rosa, this will be a very helpful tool to use to not only estimate the sample size but to do it correctly.

[@lisanoland5134]

Thank you for the information, I will take away from this video that sample size can grow exponentially when increasing the confidence level and decreasing error and that knowing the appropriate sample size is important in research.

[@michellerobinson968]

Watching the formula for sample size be calculated looks easy and I could follow along but I am not sure I completely understand. He explains this so well. I could see how the confidence level, standard deviation and error can change the sample size.

[@aliciazahn1718]

Michelle Robinson I was having trouble understanding, too. I feel like we need more information on finding the standard deviation. I agree with you, following along was easy and I think replicating would be easy but coming up with this on my own, I do not think I am confident enough in my ability to find the information needed.

[@susanwilder7616]

Michelle Robinson It is slightly confusing. I think it would helpful if we did an exercise or two in class together.

[@The_Wandering_Warrior1]

Thank You!! It helped a LOT!! you've earned my subscription.

[@joe1579]

Interesting video. Especially, how everything works together in estimating the sample size, & how changes in the confidence level, etc. can have an impact on the estimated size.

[@loriwardwell2957]

This was interesting, it makes it easy to see the relationship between the sample size, standard deviation, and confidence level. We will be setting our own sample size but this helps fill in the gaps on where our other figures will come from.

[@scottmartin7764]

This was a helpful video, it showed me how such a small simple error in putting the numbers could have drastic changes.

[@AnnaLaura1011]

it is helpful, I'm not usually a cautious person when it comes to things like this but I also see how important it is to be very accurate with the data.

[@brittanyhoffman8068]

Thank you for sharing this video Dr. Grande. I didn't know that there was a formula for calculating sample size. I found it interesting how drastic the sample size changed if the standard deviation was changed or the error was changed.

[@tamarabakergibbons5715]

Hey Brittany. I didn't know either that there was a formula for calculating a sample size. I guess I just assumed that the more research participants one could get the better the experiment and results. I had 3 stats classes and this info is new to me. Guess we never stop learning!

[@briannagoitiandia9833]

I found this video helpful in explaining how the confidence level, standard deviations, z-score, sample size and error are all interrelated

[@kristinblake9294]

It is not often that one would have ability to govern the sample size for a study. Therefore, it is important that the sample is appropriate for the study to make sure it is not too large or too small. The equation to do so is fairly easy to follow do long as the zscore, sd, and error are provided. Thanks for the recap on how to get the needed data to perform the equation.

[@oliviahylton9430]

As Dr. Grande stated in the video, this feature of excel appears to be a great way to ensure that one is using time and resources efficiently when conducting research to get the most accurate and beneficial results with the appropriate sample size.

[@jacklinskibicki6098]

This video certainly showed the importance of determining an appropriate sample size that is adequate for research, and how to do so. I understand the inputs needed to determine this calculation and having the equation written and explained was helpful. I would like to practice this calculation further, however.

[@danielleduboski9831]

Jacklin Skibicki It was very helpful to understand how you get the correct sample size needed for your study.

[@jazzynovy5400]

Jacklin Skibicki Yes, it was helpful to learn how to determine the correct sample size to use in research.

[@katherinebeck593]

I originally thought that sample size was something that was determined prior to doing any data. I like that you can determine a sample size in this way it is very helpful. Like Jeff I am also confused about where he error number came from.

[@sherrietilghman2745]

It is interesting that the sample size can be estimated. Usually we just choose a good number we think is sufficient. When it comes to the use of resources this is important to get close to what you need.

[@brittanyvodzak9198]

I found this video to be very interesting. It was very easy to understand and I think the information is important for us to know because if we ever conduct a research study we should know what sample size we should have. I also liked the fact the formula was there for you to see as Dr. Grande was doing the calculations. I wonder what the results would like if you used a smaller sample size than the formula presented in a research study.

[@natebullock7180]

This was very helpful for my statistics homework! Thank you

[@DrGrande]

You are most welcome :)

[@alainavangelder5327]

I vaguely remember calculating sample size but then again I could be wrong. I certainly didn't know there was such a functionality in Excel and this is a relief. Although I got slightly hung up on the formulas, I think I could replicate this if I had the video as a tool.

[@simonehenry469]

Alaina Van Gelder I did not know there was a functionality in Excel either

[@rhondabaileyyy]

This video was very informative and easy to follow.

[@aliciazahn1718]

While I followed the video straight through, I had in the back of my mind the question of where do I find the standard deviation for this so it was a bit distracting. I still think I need more explanation of how you come to this in the research. It seems to be that you have to get it from a measurement tool but how do you arrive at using that measurement tool, how can you be sure with your specific population that the tool would have the same SD as in the past (particularly if you have a new population never used on it), and is the SD always the same with a measurement tool? I am rather stuck on this because sample size is something I have trouble being confident in so I would really like to understand well how to figure out what sample size would be optimal.

[@toniettemorda9077]

"A sample size to small will not give results and to large will waste results." This totally makes sense when choosing how big your sample size should be. If its too high or too low this could truly ruin calculations

[@marydaniels5564]

Hello, Dr, Grande. Thank you for this video. What is the origin of the formula used in your video? How might I reference it?

[@reginaames3038]

very informative video demonstrating how to estimate sample size using excel. Good to know that a small sample size does not yeild accurate results and too large of a sample size can waist resources.

[@daniellemaldonado631]

So, things are getting a little more complicated! I could follow along with Dr. Grande in the video. However, when he entered in the information for the Sample Size I was lost. I have never had to calculate sample size, so this video will be a handy tool to have.

[@remigiusdemby7433]

I would need to pratice more of this. Great video!

[@aprilbrooks8672]

Once we set the confidence level and standard deviation, I found it interesting we can increase the error number and it will affect the sample size. The large size of the sample will determine how the resources are effective and maximized or wasted if the sample is too small.

[@kyarapanula1002]

Right!?! That was an interesting part, for sure.

[@jazzynovy5400]

This video is helpful to learn how to estimate a sample size that would be appropriate to use in research.

[@thecorgisquad9861]

This video would be great for us if we were actually creating and carrying out a real research study and wanted to know about how many participants to shoot for in order to obtain accurate results indicative of our IVs or treatments. Looking at the formula makes sense, but it is very helpful to watch him plug all of the values into the function and see it spit out the calculated sample size value.

[@kimberlykelly386]

Jessica Muzzin Jessica, I agree with that, too. Watching Dr. Grande step-by-step is helpful but there is SO much to take in - even the side note steps like roundup and adding ,0 to the end of the function to round up to zero digits. It's a lot to absorb.

[@josephbrowne5197]

Thank you very much; very helpful.

[@kimeeshareedwalker3263]

Showing the formula was helpful on how the calculations were produced.

[@vijayakumargajenderan657]

This video is very useful to researchers.. please mention source

[@adnanalghail689]

How will you find the Standard Deviation in order to be more accurate in the calculation or just to give it a random value which will give you close number of sample size that you desire to have.? Please advise. Thanks.!

[@jackiedeleonardis1153]

I didn't realize that you could have too large a sample size. Prior to the video, I figured that the larger the sample size the higher the likelihood of better results.

[@remygooch1393]

I also used to think this was the case but this video helped clarify sample sizes can be too large.

[@jpincinjr]

Easy to understand the use of the formula. Still confused on where that error number came from (is it something we just create as say that is the error we will accept?). It would appear as though the z-score is easy to determine. My understanding is that all you need is the confidence level (seems like we use 95% mostly), divide that decimal by 2, then use that norm.s.inv function (1 minus the score above it). I guess it's easy as long as everything lines up exactly as it does in this video...

[@MichaelSmith-jd5ki]

Jeff Pincin I think the error score is the error that you are willing to accept as part of the study. Good question to bring up in class.

[@katherinebeck593]

Good point, I didn't add those Pieces together Michael smith.

[@xxxOlaBabezxxx]

Thank you for this! It was the only video that helped. However, if you are running a mixed design research i.e. independent and repeated measure design, then does the same thing apply? Also, as I haven't run the study and neither will I do a pilot for it, I will need to use literature search to get rough estimates. In this instance, how many studies that are similar to mine, do you need to look through?

[@ดนุสรณ์สมศรี-ฤ3ข]

How to cal Error , Could you please tell me about its formular?

[@jasmiraross2802]

equations with a verbal explanation...."estimated sample size equals the z score, multiplied by sigma (standard deviation) divided by the error, all is squared"....I would most likely benefit with hands on practice in order to be successful with this.

[@kimeeshareedwalker2602]

The roundup seemed a little confusing. I would like to revisit the configurations used to come up with that figure.

[@MrBrawoh]

I have understood and computed the values and found the formula to be correct. however, what is the total population from which the sample is extracted?

[@maywest1016]

Estimating the mean score in an instrument seems pretty straight forward by utilizing Excel.The relation to the alpha and the confidence level escapes me. I was unaware you could use the round up function in Excel. This makes sense so that the results don't yield a fractioned participant.

[@kimberlykelly386]

This video was pretty easy to follow but I'm far from confident that I grasp all of this. It's helpful to know where the figures are coming from (for example, the tool we use will specify the SD) otherwise, I'm lost as to where to pull these numbers from. I understand how to plug them in to the equations.

[@toniettemorda9077]

Kimberly Hanna Yeah, I'm right there with you! These are challenging to comprehend for sure. I believe that these come from the data that is conducted in research.

[@kimberlydixon8760]

Kimberly Hanna I agree that I'm kind of lost as to where these numbers come from but plugging them in was pretty straight forward.

[@jpincinjr]

Kimberly Hanna I'm with you all as well. I thought we needed to determine a sample size for our research proposal, but some other comments on here led me to believe otherwise. I thought we were going to have to use this for our proposal.

[@sherrietilghman2745]

I with you grasping all of it I definitely did not do. However, I'm with Melissa too, how do we know how accurate it really is!

[@meganblackwell8600]

Being one of the concepts that I mostly understand in research, I did not know that excel had a function to estimate sample size. This video was more confusing to me than I had anticipated.

[@susanwilder7616]

I thought it was interesting how drastically the sample size changed when the confidence level changed as well as the error number changed.

[@daniellemaldonado631]

Susan Wilder That was interesting. Other than that I felt like a lost puppy.

[@CandyKaneLane]

So what I took from this video was that by doing such calculations, we are given a recommended sample size, is that suggesting that is the number of participants we should have for our research? I am wondering if that would allow for more accurate data collection.

[@thecorgisquad9861]

Candace Fernandez I am thinking that the recommended sample size does suggest an adequate and appropriate number of participants to shoot for to obtain the best results.

[@jacklinskibicki6098]

Candace Fernandez I am also assuming the recommended sample size is the number of participants that should be included in research. I think it would be helpful in gathering accurate data, and like the video suggested, saving potential resources that could be overused with too large of a sample size. This would be a good question to explore further though!

[@brittanyvodzak9198]

Candace Fernandez I also think that the sample size is the number of participants you should have in a study. I also wonder what the results would look like if we used less or more participants.

[@maywest1016]

Candace Fernandez The sample size is the number of participants being used in the research. I think you choose the sample size and then go from there. However, it seems as though, according to this video, that the sample size changes according the confidence level.

[@Mjthfdj]

Candace Fernandez I believe this tool is to help you determine what the sample size should be based on the data collected. It does seem as is the confidence level plays a major part in getting to the number of participants.

[@laxmankhanal2275]

regarding the value of 'E'(error), is it similar to margin of error or different ?

[@Mjthfdj]

The formula seems pretty cut and dry as I am watching the video but I believe practice makes perfect. I would like to work with these formulas more using actual research materials so I can better grasp the calculations. I also found the round up function interesting. I think that would come in handy when conducting research and calculating data.

[@remigiusdemby7433]

Ashlee, I also find the video cut and dry.

[@Pixieburglar]

I feel like this video should have been easy for me to follow, however I am confused about the basic reason behind needing to estimate the sample size to begin with. I understand that estimating the sample size is based on data collected. But if you already have data collected from say surveys, you would already know how many individuals the same size is composed of. Is this a way to be able to estimate sample sizes when analyzing data that others have reported on work backwards? I see where this could be utilized, I just don't see why we wouldn't already know the sample size.

[@Zhexss]

This method can be used to improve on the previous survey OR In case you want to do analysis but the data is too large and it would be inconvenient to do an analysis on that so you have to choose a sample. So you randomly choose a number of samples and do the calculation in the video. After that it will show a better number. If it's far away from the previous number of samples, you do the test again with the suggested number of samples and keep on doing it until you get to a point where the difference between number of samples chosen and number of samples suggested is not big

[@rachelfoster5463]

I had no idea that there was a formula to calculate sample size. It makes sense; I just had never thought about it. The only thing I was confused about was the Alpha part. Is Alpha always 1 or did I miss how he got to that number?

[@reneemendez4287]

Rachel Foster I never really understood what Alpha stood for. I may have missed or forgot it from a past video. This would be a good question to raise in class since both me and you don't understand.

[@alainavangelder5327]

Renee Mendez I agree Renee, I think this would be a good question to raise in class. I was a little lost on Alpha myself. Although the video makes sense, arriving at an Alpha of 1 is a good question.

[@rebeccameece013]

Renee Mendez Alpha confused me too; I think we should talk about this in class for some clarification. After watching the video and then having the point reiterated to us in class and in person may better help us understand.

[@meganblackwell8600]

Rachel Foster I was confused as to how he got to this number as well-I hope we go over this!

[@reneemendez4287]

This is where I become confused about how the configurations and statistics become actual information. I thought that the sample size was the recommended size of the participants during a study. Is that what the 139 represents? I am also confused with how to calculate error and what exactly Alpha represents. I do not know if I am missing it or if I simply don't understand. And I worry about not understanding and needing a whole refresher in statistics as some of these phrases make no sense to me.

[@kimberlydixon8760]

I was kind of confused by this video, I struggled to understand if you picked the sample size first and then did this to verify that you had the appropriate sample size or if you somehow entered the other data first and that's how you arrive at the sample size.

[@bethanyelstrom3566]

I was following along until this video. This is a little more complicated and without being prompted I'm not sure that I would know where to put the values. I found it beneficial to show the formula on the slide to equate the data. I can see the benefit of the social sciences using the standard 95% confidence level across the board.

[@michellerobinson968]

Bethany Elstrom I am not sure I would know where to put the values either. The video was easy to follow. I too see the importance or benefit of having the confidence level at 95%.

[@vanndynor6127]

How we define the standard deviation and Error based on what?

[@riverstiger1123]

How I can reference this formula, please?

[@finnbryan]

I don't understand how you have got your Standard Deviation in this example?

[@joelcousins8695]

How did you get error of 2?

[@danielleduboski9831]

I understand how to follow these formulas, but how do we set Excel up to know the formulas?

[@bethanyelstrom3566]

Danielle Duboski This formula is more complicated than the previous ones and I found it hard to follow along. This will be something that I would need to play with to become more comfortable.

[@ariadnaaguero-roman5525]

Danielle DuboskiI agree its hard to following along. I think that once you insert the equal sign = in the cell a list of functions will appear. You just have to know what function you are looking for. The only calculation I've done in excel is adding which is =(sum) and then you select the data.

[@WXClash]

Anyone knows who made this formula? and why it's the formula?

[@brittanygoodwin1556]

I guess I am confused as to why you would need to estimate a sample size as opposed to just picking a sample size for the study

[@thelearninglab7607]

If I have known population, and I want to draw sample size of 95% confidence level.. how can I find it..I dont know how to calculate my standard deviation.

[@Maxbash114]

Can you help me the name of this formula?

[@simonehenry469]

good for research paper

[@synxvi]

Speed of 1.25 is perfect

[@ariadnaaguero-roman5525]

The more the confidence level and less error the higher the population. That could be a very costly study and time consuming to gather all the data.