Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: An idea that is quite widespread in research, mainly quantitative, is that the samples must be very large, assuming that the larger the size lower the chances of error inthe data, and a better statistical representativeness of the inferential analyses. The objective of this work is to emphasize that this principle does not apply to all research since in some cases such as pilot studies, the sample size, in addition to statistical representativeness, requires considering other criteria that may be relevant for a particular study. Therefore, two general rules are analyzed when determining the sample size in pilot studies: those that establish a fixed number of participants; and those that suggest delimiting the sample size through a series of steps, designed based on the characteristics of the research to be carried out. After all, none of these rules is better than the other, because the size of a sample must be a widely reasoned and critical decision made by the researcher(s), related to the characteristics and purposes of their research.
Author: Vargas Salomón, Rodrigo
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics and Probability
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7036955781