Which is a disadvantage of stratified sampling?

• A. Access may be a problem
• B. It is quick to implement
• C. It requires no prior knowledge
• D. It guarantees perfect representation

Answer: (A)

Stratified sampling aims to reflect the whole population by dividing it into groups that share characteristics and sampling from each group. The main practical drawback is access to every stratum. In fieldwork, some groups can be hard to reach, require extra permissions, or be limited by time, safety, or logistics. If you can’t access all the strata, you can’t achieve the intended representation, making the method less effective. The other statements aren’t accurate disadvantages: it isn’t quick to implement and does require some knowledge of the population to form strata, and even with stratification it doesn’t guarantee perfect representation due to non-response and variation within strata.