Definition:Sample

Definition

A sample is a non-empty, finite, proper subset of a population.

Size

The size of a sample is the number of elements it has.

Thus a sample containing $n$ observations is a sample of size $n$.

Also see

• Definition:Quota Sample
• Definition:Representative Sample
• Definition:Stratified Sample

• Results about samples can be found here.

Sources

• 1972: Murray R. Spiegel and R.W. Boxer: Theory and Problems of Statistics (SI ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: Variables and Graphs: Population and Sample. Descriptive and Inductive Statistics
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): sample
• 2000: Murray R. Spiegel, John Schiller and R. Alu Srinivasan: Probability and Statistics (2nd ed.): $\S 5$
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): sample