Sampling, Determining Size

A population is the entire group of people a researcher is interested in studying. Because of issues with practicality, a researcher does not typically use an entire population for his or her research. Probability theory, however, allows a researcher to use a subset or sample of the population to make statistical inferences about the population. One of the first steps the researcher must take is to determine the sample size. The sample size is key when determining how accurate the sample results estimate to the entire population. This entry discusses the practicality issues that exist when trying to use populations, how samples work, how to determine sample size, and reminders for researchers.

Populations

In an ideal word, all research would be done ...

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