"Roscoe (1975) proposes the following rules of thumb for determining sample size:
1. Sample sizes larger than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate for most research.
2. Where samples are to be broken into sub-samples; (male/females, juniors/seniors, etc.), a minimum sample size of 30 for each category is necessary.
3. In multivariate research (including multiple regression analyses), the sample size should be several times (preferably 10 times or more) as large as the number of variables in the study.
4. For simple experimental research with tight experimental controls (matched pairs, etc.), successful research is possible with samples as small as 10 to 20 in size."
Reference
Sekaran, U., 2003. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
There are a few methods in order to calculate sample size, it basically depends on which is the goal of your study, the precision you want and on the information you have about your variables. It's usually better to realize a pilot study before, in order to recollect information about parameters like proportions or variance. In this paper you can find a good recopilation of the most used ones: Article How to Calculate Sample Size for Different Study Designs in ...
"Roscoe (1975) proposes the following rules of thumb for determining sample size:
1. Sample sizes larger than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate for most research.
2. Where samples are to be broken into sub-samples; (male/females, juniors/seniors, etc.), a minimum sample size of 30 for each category is necessary.
3. In multivariate research (including multiple regression analyses), the sample size should be several times (preferably 10 times or more) as large as the number of variables in the study.
4. For simple experimental research with tight experimental controls (matched pairs, etc.), successful research is possible with samples as small as 10 to 20 in size."
Reference
Sekaran, U., 2003. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.