Statistics Dictionary
To see a definition, select a term from the dropdown text box below. The statistics
dictionary will display the definition, plus links to related web pages.
Select term:
Sample
In statistics, a sample refers to a set of observations drawn from
a population.
Often, it is necessary to use samples for research, because it is impractical to
study the whole population. For example, suppose we wanted to know the average
height of 12-year-old American boys. We could not measure all of the
12-year-old boys in America, but we could measure a sample of boys.