Study Population Elements

Element: An element refers to a unit of which the researcher is interested in collection information with reference to. The main role of an element during a research study is to provide a basis for the collection and analysis of data. Elements usually provide information relating to the entire population. An example of an element is a group of inmates with has unique characteristics or attributes, for instance, a male inmate who is suffering from HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. Elements are also referred to units of analysis.

Population: A population refers to a group of individuals or set of items with the desired characteristics that the researcher would like to examine, analyze and understand. It is a set of all the subjects or entities that the

The study population must be of great interest to the researcher. In my opinion, a study population is a group or set of identical items or subjects of study that the researcher chooses to examine due to their relevance to the research topic or question. For example, a researcher who wants to study crimes committed by juveniles would select child prisoners aged below fourteen years as the study population. The main role of a study population is to provide the researcher with reliable and accurate information that is relevant to the research questions. In my view, study populations must also have comparable characteristics that are definable and examinable by the researcher, for example, age, gender and level of education of juvenile offenders within the criminal justice

For example, in a study of criminal justice among juvenile offenders, a single child is considered a sampling unit. A sampling unit could also be a group of elements in a population that the researcher uses for choosing members of the sample population. For instance, a household of consumers could be considered as a sampling unit during marketing researchers. Sampling units usually share common characteristics thus provide the researcher with invaluable information that is useful for drawing conclusions during the research