Sampling

Population: A population is the collection or aggregate of all elements or items of interest in a particular
study about which we wish to make an inference. For example, if we want to study about the monthly
expenditure of the students of this class, then all the students are the elements of the Population.

Sample: A sample is a part of population, which we select for the purpose of the study or investigation.
In statistics, a sample is a subset of a population. Typically, the population is very large, making a census
or a complete enumeration of all the values in the population impractical or impossible. The sample
represents a subset of manageable size.

Population Size: Population size refers to the number of units, which constitutes the population.
Sample Size: Sample size refers to the number of units contains in a sample.
Sampling Unit: A sampling unit or simply unit is a well-defined, distinct and identifiable elements or
group of elements on which observation can be made. For example, in a household survey, the housing
apartments or families may constitute the sampling unit.
 Sampling
Different methods of sampling: (1) Simple Random Sampling (2) Stratified Sampling (3) Systematic or
Quasi Sampling (4) Cluster Sampling
Simple random sample : A simple random sample is a subset of a statistical population in which each
member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen. A simple random sample is meant to be an
unbiased representation of a group. An example of a simple random sample would be the names of 25
employees being chosen out of a hat from a company of 250 employees. In this case, the population is all
250 employees, and the sample is random because each employee has an equal chance of being chosen.
Random sampling is used in science to conduct randomized control tests or for blinded experiments.
Stratified sampling is a type of sampling method in which the total population is divided into smaller
groups or strata to complete the sampling process. The strata is formed based on some common
characteristics in the population data. After dividing the population into strata, the researcher randomly
selects the sample proportionally
Systematic or quasi-random sampling differs from random sampling in not giving equal probability of
selection to all possible samples which could be taken from a population. It is also widely used and offers
the most practical approximation to random sampling. This method entails calculating a sample interval as
a starting point and then adding that interval to each succeeding number. It is not strictly random, the initial
number is random but the successive ones are not.
 Sampling
Example of systematic sampling: In a survey covering a population of 10,000 it may be decided to take a
sample of 250. The sampling interval will be 10,000/250=40. A randomly selected number between 1 and 40 is
chosen (in our example we use 4). The sampling series then becomes 4, 44, 84, etc. until we reach 250 samples
Cluster sampling is defined as a sampling method where the researcher creates multiple clusters of people
from a population where they are indicative of homogeneous characteristics and have an equal chance of being
a part of the sample. Example: Consider a scenario where an organization is looking to survey the
performance of smartphones across Bangladesh. They can divide the entire country’s population into cities
(clusters) and select further towns with the highest population and also filter those using mobile devices.
𝒙) is an unbiased estimate of the population mean (𝝁)
Show that the sample mean (ഥ
Proof: Let 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 , ……. 𝑥𝑛 be a random sample of size n from a large population 𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , 𝑋3 , ……. 𝑋𝑛 of
1
size N with mean 𝜇. Then the sample mean (𝑥)ҧ is given by 𝑥ҧ = σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑥𝑖
𝑛
1 𝑛 1
Now 𝐸 𝑥ҧ = 𝐸 σ 𝑥 = σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝐸(𝑥𝑖 )
𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑖 𝑛
Since 𝑥𝑖 is a sample observation from the population 𝑋𝑖 (i=1, 2, ….N) it can be take any one of the values 𝑋1 ,
1 1 1 1 1
𝑋2 , 𝑋3 , ……. 𝑋𝑛 each with equal probability . ∴ 𝐸 𝑥𝑖 = 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 +…….+ 𝑋𝑁 = (𝑋1 + 𝑋2 …….+𝑋𝑁 )
𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑁
1 1
∴ 𝐸 𝑥𝑖 = 𝜇 ∴ 𝐸 𝑥ҧ = σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝜇 = . 𝑛𝜇 = 𝜇. Hence the sample mean (𝑥)ҧ is an unbiased estimate of the
𝑛 𝑛
population mean (𝜇)
 Sampling
𝜹𝟐 𝜹
Show that the variance of the sample mean is or The standard error of sample mean is
𝒏 𝒏

Proof: Let 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 , ……. 𝑥𝑛 be a random sample of size n from a large population 𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , 𝑋3 , ……. 𝑋𝑛 of
1 𝑛 1
size N with variance 𝛿, then the sample mean (𝑥)ҧ is given by 𝑥ҧ = σ 𝑥 = (𝑥1 + 𝑥2 …….+𝑥𝑛 )
𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑖 𝑛
1 1 1
Now V 𝑥ҧ = 𝑉 (𝑥 + 𝑥2 …….+𝑥𝑛 ) = 𝑉 𝑥1 + 𝑥2 ……+𝑥𝑛 = 𝑉 𝑥1 ) + 𝑉(𝑥2 )……+V(𝑥𝑛
𝑛 1 𝑛2 𝑛2

The covariance terms vanish since the sample observations are independent. But 𝑉 𝑥𝑖 = 𝛿 2 , ( i=1, 2, …n)
1 𝛿2
∴ V 𝑥ҧ = 𝑛𝛿 2 =
𝑛2 𝑛

𝛿2 𝛿
Hence 𝑆. 𝐸 𝑥ҧ = =
𝑛 𝑛
𝛿2 𝛿
So the variance of the sample mean is or The standard error of sample mean is
𝑛 𝑛
 Sampling

Problem: From the Population 5, 4, 3, 7, 6 draw all possible sample of size 2. Hence show that average
of sample mean is equal to population mean.
5+4+3+7+6
Solution: The population mean 𝑥ҧ = =5
2
Drawing samples of size 2: Samples Sample mean
1. 5, 4 4.5
2. 5, 3 4.0
3. 5, 7 6.0
4. 5, 6 5.5
5. 4, 3 3.5
6. 4, 7 4.5
7. 4, 6 5.0
8. 3, 7 5.0
9. 3, 6 4.5
10. 7, 6 6.5
Total = 50.0

σ 𝑥ҧ
Now average of sample mean is = 5.0, which is equal to the population mean.
10

Problem: From the Population 5, 4, 3, 7, 6 draw all possible sample of size 3. Hence show that average
of sample mean is equal to population mean.