Sample (statistics)

In statistics and quantitative research methodology, a data sample is a set of data collected and/or selected from a statistical population by a defined procedure. The elements of a sample are known as sample points, sampling units or observations.

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 usually represents a subset of manageable size. Samples are collected and statistics are calculated from the samples so that one can make inferences or extrapolations from the sample to the population. The data sample may be drawn from a population without replacement, in which case it is a subset of a population; or with replacement, in which case it is a multisubset.