Ipsos Encyclopedia - Sample
Questionnaire Design
The sample in a market research survey is the subset of the population or universe of interest which is interviewed. Typically, the sample is pulled using random methods, so that everyone has an equal chance of inclusion.
Additional terms related to the sample include:
Sample Definition: A description of the specific group a study targets.
Sample Size: The number of individuals in a study, affecting reliability of results but not necessarily data quality.
Sampling Instructions: Guidelines for selecting participants, crucial for accurate respondent selection.
Sample Selection Error: Bias from non-randomly chosen samples, leading to a potential misrepresentation of the population.
Sampling Error: Uncertainty stemming from using a sample to estimate parameters rather than the full population.
Sampling Frame: A list of potential subjects from which to draw a sample.
Sampling Frame Error: A non-sampling error in which the target population and sampling frame don't match, causing inaccuracies.
