Population
The entire, comprehensive group of individuals, events, or objects that share a specific set of characteristics defined by the researcher.
What is Population?
In research methodology, the population (or target population) is the complete universe of entities to which the researcher wants to generalize their findings. It must be explicitly defined by specific inclusion criteria, geographic boundaries, and timeframes.
Why Population Matters
Defining the population determines who the research findings actually apply to. A poorly defined population makes it impossible to design a valid sampling strategy or know the limits of the study's generalizability.
Example
For a study on pediatric nursing, the target population might be defined as 'all registered pediatric nurses currently employed full-time in public hospitals in the state of California during the year 2023.'
Common Mistakes
- Defining the population too broadly, making it impossible to obtain a representative sample or a realistic sampling frame.
- Generalizing findings to a larger population than what was actually defined and sampled (e.g., studying university students and generalizing to all human adults).