Generalizations, representative
Biased sample
There is no "ideal" sample size for any given population, because polls and other statistical analysis forms depend on many factors, including what the survey is intended to show, who the target audience is, how much statistical error is permitted, and so on. The "Survey System" link, below, offers definitions and a couple of calculators to determine the best sample size for most purposes.
Population and SamplePopulation is the area in which you are trying to get information from. Sample is a section of your population that you are actually going to survey. It is important to have a sample that will represent your entire population in order to minimize biases. For example: You want in know how American citizens feel about the war in Iraq. Your population: The United States Your sample: 500 citizens selected randomly from each state.Since the answers all over the US would greatly vary, it is important to have everyone in the population represented in your sample. This is usually done through random sampling, which assumes no biases seeing as the subjects were selected at random.
There is no sampling method that will select the exact population.
Generalizations, representative
Analogies, target
To generalize results from the sample population to the target population.
Biased sample
the sampled population includes all people whom are included in the sample, the targeted population is what the statistics practitioner is targeting or questioning
sample
sample
sample
How representative is the sample relative to the target population.
ensure taht the sample for the study is representative of the target population
its time consuming and expensive if its a large sample you need or a big target population
it is non-random and prone to bias unrepresentative of target population