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Slovin's Formula
Slovin's formula

- is used to calculate the sample size (n) given the population size (N) and a margin of error (e).

- it's a random sampling technique formula to estimate sampling size

-It is computed as n = N / (1+Ne2).

whereas:
n = no. of samples
N = total population
e = error margin / margin of error

When to use slovin's formula?

- If a sample is taken from a population, a formula must be used to take into account confidence levels and margins of
error. When taking statistical samples, sometimes a lot is known about a population, sometimes a little and sometimes
nothing at all. For example, we may know that a population is normally distributed (e.g., for heights, weights or IQs), we
may know that there is a bimodal distribution (as often happens with class grades in mathematics classes) or we may have
no idea about how a population is going to behave (such as polling college students to get their opinions about quality of
student life). Slovin's formula is used when nothing about the behavior of a population is known at at all.

How to use slovin's formula? (Examples)

- To use the formula, first figure out what you want your error of tolerance to be. For example, you may be happy with a
confidence level of 95 percent (giving a margin error of 0.05), or you may require a tighter accuracy of a 98 percent
confidence level (a margin of error of 0.02). Plug your population size and required margin of error into the formula. The
result will be the number of samples you need to take.

In research methodology, for example N=1000 and e=0.05

n = 1000 / (1 + 1000 * 0.5)

n = 1000 / (1 + 250)
n = 3.984063745 = 4 samplings

A researcher plans to conduct a survey. If the population on High City is 1,000,000 , find the sample size if the
margin of error is 25%

First : Convert the Margin Error 25% by dividing it to 100

Given:
N = 1,000,000
e = 25% = 0.025

n = 1,000,000/(1 + 1,000,000 0.025 )

n = 1,000,000/(1 + 1,000,000 0.000625 )
n = 1,000,000/(1 + 625 )
n = 1,000,000/626
n = 1597.44 or approx. 1597

Suppose that you have a group of 1,000 city government employees and you want to survey them to find out
which tools are best suited to their jobs. You decide that you are happy with a margin of error of 0.05. Using
Slovin's formula, you would be required to survey n = N / (1 + Ne^2) people:

1,000 / (1 + 1000 * 0.05 * 0.05) = 286

Slovins Formula: What is it and When do I use it?

Probability and Statistics > Slovins Formula

If you take a population sample, you must use a formula to figure out what sample size you need
to take. Sometimes you know something about a population, which can help you determine a
sample size. For example, its well known that IQ scores follow a normal distribution pattern.
But what about if you know nothing about your population at all? Thats when you can use
Slovins formula to figure out what sample size you need to take, which is written as n = N / (1 +
Ne2) where n = Number of samples, N = Total population and e = Error tolerance

Sample question: Use Slovins formula to find out what sample of a population of 1,000 people
you need to take for a survey on their soda preferences.
Step 1: Figure out what you want your confidence level to be. For example, you might want a
confidence level of 95 percent (which will give you a margin of error of 0.05), or you might need
better accuracy at the 98 percent confidence level (which produces a margin of error of 0.02).
Step 2. Plug your data into the formula. In this example, well use a 95 percent confidence
level with a population size of 1,000.
n = N / (1 + N e2) =
1,000 / (1 + 1000 * 0.05 2) = 285.714286
Step 3: Round your answer to a whole number (because you cant sample a fraction of a
person or thing!)
285.714286 = 286
What is Slovins Formula?
Slovinss formula is used to calculate an appropriate sample size from a population.

About sampling
Statistics is a way of looking at a populations behavior by taking a sample. Its usually
impossible to survey every member of a population because of money or time. For example, lets
say you wanted to know how many people in the USA were vegetarians. Think about how long it
would take you to call over 300 million people; Assuming they all had phones and could speak!.
The problems with surveying entire populations are why researchers survey just a fraction of the
population: a sample.
The problem with taking a sample of the population is sample size. Obviously, if you asked just
one person in the population if they were vegetarian then their answer wouldnt be
representative of everyone. But would 100 people be sufficient? 1000? Ten thousand? How you
figure out a big enough sample size involves applying a formula. While there are many formulas
to calculate sample sizes, most of them require you to know something about the population, like
the mean. But what if you knew nothing about your population? Thats where Slovins
formula comes in.
When Slovins formula is used
If you have no idea about a populations behavior, use Slovins formula to find the sample
size.The formula (sometimes written as Slovens formula) was formulated by Slovin in 1960.
The error tolerance, e, can be given to you (for example, in a question). If youre a researcher
you might want to figure out your own margin of error; Just subtract your confidence level from
1. For example, if you wanted to be 98 percent confident that your data was going to be
reflective of the entire population then:
1-0.98 = 0.02.
e=0.02.