What Is Population Sampling and Why Is It Important?

Population can be defined as a complete set of elements that share a common characteristic that is defined by the sampling criteria that is determined by a researcher.

Overview: What is a population?

Population can be defined as a complete set of elements that share a common characteristic that is defined by the sampling criteria that is determined by a researcher.

3 drawbacks of populations

There are some significant drawbacks when working with populations:

1. Data gathering

Sometimes, gathering data on an entire population is impossible, too costly, or impractical.

2. Sampling issues

When sampling a population, there is significant room for error.

3. Variance

There can potentially be too much variance in a population to pull relevant data from.

Why are populations important to understand?

For the following reasons, you should understand how populations work:

Sustainability

It is important to understand populations, as it is impossible to sustain business without a stable population.

Production and distribution

Population has a massive effect on the means of production and distribution and is therefore worth having a working understanding of.

Sampling

Having a knowledge of populations and how they work is important if you hope to take statistically powerful samples.

An industry example of a population

A company is considering the launch of a new product. Researchers decide to conduct a sample survey of the entire population of their customer base in order to gauge consumer interest.

3 best practices when thinking about populations

Here are some practices to consider when thinking about populations:

1. Recognize the differences between populations and samples

Population:

Collection of all units that contain common characteristics
Includes each element of a group
Contains parameter as a characteristic
Data is collected by complete enumeration
Focus is on identification of the characteristics

Sample:

It is a subgroup of the population
Only includes a handful of the whole population
Contains statistics as a characteristic
Data is collected on it by a sample survey
Focus is on making inferences about the population

2. Avoid allocating resources toward monitoring an entire population

Unless it is absolutely necessary, focus on sampling as opposed to an entire population.

3. Engage in routine population analysis

Engaging in routine population analysis helps you spot the need for improvement and can aid in the forecasting of trends.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about population

What are the two groups in a population?

The two groups in a population are the target population and the accessible population.