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Sample size calculator

Most sample-size calculators written for Philippine theses implement one formula — Slovin's — and apply it to every study. Slovin's formula is valid in one specific situation: estimating a population proportion, at 95% confidence, with a known population size. Outside that, it answers a different question than the one you asked.

This one asks what you are estimating first, then routes to the method that answers it — and tells you plainly when Slovin's formula is not the right tool, with the source.

What are you estimating?

What share of my population does X? (surveys, prevalence)

Result

286

participants

How this was computed

n = N / (1 + N e²)

populationSize = 1000 · marginOfError = 0.05 · confidenceLevel = 0.95

Slovin's formula applies here

Slovin's formula applies here: you are estimating a population proportion at 95% confidence with a known population size, which is the only situation it is valid for. It assumes the most conservative expected proportion (0.5).

Source: Tejada, J. J. & Punzalan, J. R. B. (2012). On the Misuse of Slovin's Formula

Show your adviser the formula and the source above, not just the number. A sample size you cannot justify is one you will be asked to justify.

Keep this with your project

Why the formula matters more than the number

A panel asking how you arrived at your sample size is not asking for a figure. They are asking whether the figure follows from your design. That is why this calculator shows the formula it used and the values it used it with — so the answer is reproducible rather than asserted.

If you are comparing groups rather than estimating a single value, the question changes shape entirely: sample size then depends on the smallest difference worth detecting and the power you want, neither of which appears anywhere in Slovin's formula.

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Mento is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek and Perplexity, or any other AI provider. Mento uses third-party AI models to generate study content, which can be inaccurate or incomplete — always check important answers against your course material. How Mento uses AI

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