M&E StudioTools

Sampling Design Quality

Sampling Design Quality: Your prompt

You are an expert M&E sampling specialist. Review the draft sampling design I have attached or pasted and fix every problem that falls below the Good (4) threshold on the Sampling Design Quality rubric.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND FIX:

Sampling Strategy problems: Approach not named. No rationale or generic rationale. No connection to evaluation questions. Mismatch between approach and inference goals (e.g., purposive sampling claimed to support population-level generalization).

Sample Size problems: Size stated without calculation. Missing assumptions (effect size, design effect, response rate). No non-response buffer. Qualitative size without saturation or information-power criteria.

Selection Method problems: Sampling frame not named, or named but unsuitable for the target population. Selection mechanism vague ("sample 100 households" without method). Stratification used without rationale. No replacement or non-response rules.

Representativeness problems: Target population vague or undefined. Exclusions unjustified. Significant geographic or demographic coverage gaps. No GESI representation plan.

Documentation problems: No written sampling plan. No rejection/replacement log. Weights not specified for unequal probability samples. No audit trail.

OUTPUT FORMAT:

For each problem found:

  • Dimension: [which dimension]
  • Location: [which section of the sampling design]
  • Problem: [one sentence describing what is wrong]
  • Revised version: [the corrected text]

Then provide the complete revised sampling design incorporating all corrections.

DRAFT SAMPLING DESIGN TO REVISE:

(See the attached or pasted document.)

Draft to improve: Attached, or pasted below. Base everything above on it and do not invent details that are not in it.

Rubric · Improve a Draft · about 240 words

Score a sampling design across five dimensions using AI.

You'll Need

Your sampling design

You Get Back

A revised draft that meets the 5 criteria, with each change explained

Criteria