AAA ple. is a reputable consultancy company which undertakes range of research works in the UK. A high street bank offered f20000 to AAA pl to undertake a research regarding customer satisfaction on new digital branches located in the East London. There are 500,0000 customers who use seven digital branches in the region. Due to financial, logistics and time constraints, AAA Consultancy firm is unable to take survey from all the customers of the region. a) You are required to identify and explain to the management of AAA ple any 5 sampling methods that could be used for this study [15 Marks] b) briefly explain the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling techniques identified in (a) above [15 Marks]

Below are sampling methods that could be used for this study with their advantages and disadvantages:

1. Simple Random sampling
Every member of the population has an equal probability of getting chosen in a basic random sampling. The population as a whole should be included in your sampling frame.
Its simplicity and lack of bias are two major advantages.
The difficulty in obtaining a list of a wider population, time, costs, and the fact that bias can still exist under specific situations are all downsides.

 2. Systematic Sampling
Simple random sampling is comparable to systematic sampling, however systematic sampling is usually easier to carry out. Every person in the population is assigned a number, but rather than assigning numbers at random, individuals are chosen at regular intervals.
This process has several advantages, including the elimination of clustered selection and a low risk of data contamination.
Over- or under-representation of certain patterns, as well as a higher chance of data manipulation, are disadvantages.

3. Stratified Sampling
Stratified sampling is the process of segmenting a population into subpopulations that may differ significantly. It allows you to draw more exact conclusions by ensuring that each subgroup in the sample is properly represented.

A stratified sample of the same size can provide more precision than a plain random sample.
A stratified sample sometimes necessitates a smaller sample size since it delivers more precision, which saves money.

One significant disadvantage of stratified sampling is the difficulty in selecting acceptable strata for a sample. A second disadvantage is that, when compared to simple random sampling, arranging and interpreting the findings is more challenging.

4. Convenience sampling

Convenience sampling is simple to implement, however it is arguably the worst strategy to employ. Data that is easily available is used in convenience sampling. That is, the individuals who the surveyor first encounters.
Convenience sampling has the following advantages: it is inexpensive, efficient, and simple to execute.
The sample lacks clear generalizability, which is a major disadvantage of convenience sampling.

5. Cluster sampling

Cluster sampling divides the population into groups, which are usually geographically based. Clusters or blocks are the names given to these groups. The clusters are chosen at random, and each element in those clusters is used.
Cluster sampling is a reasonably simple procedure to implement. In comparison to other types of probability sampling, such as simple random sampling, this method of sampling is more cost-effective and time-efficient.

The fundamental disadvantage of cluster sampling is that it has a higher sampling error than other sampling methods, making it less exact.