Introduction to

Sampling

Afrin Sadia Rumana

Assistant Professor
Bangladesh University of Professionals

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 Definitions…
➢ Sampling is the process of selecting units from a
population of interest.

➢ Population: The population is the entire group of

objects or individuals under study from which
the results are generalized.

➢ Sampling Unit/ Population Unit: The smallest unit

(an element or a group of elements) from which
sample can be selected.
➢ Sampling frame: List of all the sampling units
from which sample is drawn.

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➢ Sample: One or more sampling units selected
from a population according to some
specified procedure are said to constitute a
sample.
➢ Population size: Number of units in
population. It is denoted by letter N.
➢ Sample Size: Number of units in sample. It is
denoted by letter n.
➢ Sampling fraction: The ratio of sample size to
total number of units, n/N.

➢ If n samples are collected from N units of

population, then the number of all possible
combination is NCn. 3
➢ Census: A census is a collection of
information from all units in the population
or a complete enumeration of the
population. We use a census when we want
accurate information for many subdivisions
of the population.

➢ Sample survey: The survey is a method of

collecting detailed information relating to
representative group. When a survey is
carried out by a sampling method, it is called
a sample survey.
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Advantages of Sample Survey over
Census
The issues that make sample surveys
more advantageous than census are:
➢Sample surveys require less time
➢Reduced cost of the survey
➢Greater scope

But sometimes we sample the entire population

when:
➢ the population is very small
➢ we have extensive resources

➢ we don’t expect a very high

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 Reasons for Sampling
➢The results of a sample may adequately
estimate the value of the population parameter
➢ It saves time because to contact all members in
the population is time consuming
➢The cost of studying all the items in the
population may be prohibitive
➢ It may be impossible to check or locate all the
members of the population
➢ Often testing destroys the sampled item and it
cannot be returned to the population
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 Types of Sampling
Sampling methods can be classified
broadly in two types

➢Non-probability sampling: sample is

selected from elements of a population
that are easily accessible.

➢Probability sampling: all elements in the

population have some opportunity of
being included in the sample.
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 Sampling Process
The sampling process comprises several stages:

➢Defining the population of concern

➢Specifying a sampling frame, a set of items or
events possible to measure
➢Specifying a sampling method for selecting
items or events from the frame
➢Determining the sample size
➢Implementing the sampling plan
➢Sampling and data collecting
➢Reviewing the sampling process 8
 Two Types of Errors
Sampling Error Non- Sampling Errors

➢ The error resulting from ➢ Due to mistakes

using a sample to made in the
estimate a population acquisition of data
characteristic. More or due to the sample
specifically, sampling observations being
error is the difference selected improperly.
between the sample Most likely caused
statistic and the be poor planning,
population parameter. sloppy work etc.

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Good Luck !!!

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