sampling
samplingA method for collecting information and drawing inferences about a larger population or universe, from the analysis of only part thereof, the sample. censuses of the population are an expensive way of monitoring social and economic change, and are carried out infrequently, usually at ten-year intervals. Sampling allows surveys of the complete population of a country, or sub-sections of it, to be carried out far more cheaply and frequently, and with resources devoted to improving the depth and quality of the information collected, in contrast with the shallow information obtainable from censuses. Sampling is also used in other contexts—for example as quality control in manufacturing industry. Within social science its use as the basis of sampling methodology and inferential statistics have contributed enormous improvements in the cost-effectiveness...
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