Stratified sampling vs. quota sampling

Shawn asked a good question in class yesterday about the differences between stratified sampling and quota sampling. In terms of sampling mechanism (i.e. the actual process by which cases are chosen from the population), it is clear that these two samples are different. Unclear, however, is why they would lead to different results.

Recall that stratified sampling is conducted by dividing a population into two or more strata by virtue of some characteristic, and taking random samples from each strata. This is done when a simple random sample of an entire population will likely not generate enough analyzable cases for a given group of particular interest.

Let’s say we want to study the income differences between blacks and whites in the United States. Unfortunately, we only have enough funding to distribute 500 questionnaires. Given that 10% of the population is black (made up, but reasonably approximate), a simple random…