Systematic sampling is the selection of every kth element from a sampling frame, where k, the sampling interval, is calculated as:
- k = Number in population / Number in sample
The researcher must ensure that the chosen sampling interval does not hide a pattern. Any pattern would threaten randomness. A random starting point must also be selected.
See also: statistics, marketing research, quantitative marketing research, sampling, cluster sampling, multistage sampling, simple random sampling, nonprobability sampling, stratified sampling