The concept of Population and Sample and the difference between the two is important for market researchers to understand.
By fully comprehending the same, researchers will be able to detect the market, the target audience, geography, etc., which are intrinsic components of a successful marketing strategy.
‘Population,’ in general, describes the human population or the total number of people in a particular geographic region.
‘Population,’ in market research, is a complete set of elements with a common parameter between them.
This doesn’t necessarily have to be human and can be any parameter of data that possesses a common trait.
Sample, on the other hand, is just a part of the population, and it’s used to represent the whole group.
The population is pointed towards the entireness of everything that can be easily conceived.
A sample is the population’s subset, which gets picked through a specific process.
But to have a good understanding, it’s important to check the Population vs. Sample differences. In this article, you will learn about the difference between population and sample. You will surely gain detailed information on it.
Population VS. Sample
Even though the sample is a part of the population, there is a massive difference between the two. So, let’s learn more about them in detail.
Population
This particular term refers to a group of components that contains several similar features.
But remember, the population is not used for defining just a group of people. But it can also describe a group of buildings, animals, objects, events, etc.
The “population” can be of any size, and the population size is the number of members or components present within the population.
This means if there are 400 million individuals in South Korea, the size of the population will be viewed as “[N] is 400 million.
But there are also several different sorts of populations. Let’s learn about them in detail.
- Existent Population: Under this population, you will find all the present realities.
- Finite Population: Here, the total number of components present under the population is completely fixed. You can easily count the total number of components. The population is known as “finite” or “predetermined.”
- Infinite Population: When the total number of elements present in the population becomes uncountable, it’s termed “infinite.” Under an infinite population, it becomes difficult to observe everything together, known as endless.
- Hypothetical Population: This type of population is imaginary, and it’s only presented hypothetically or putatively.
Examples Of Population
Here are some of the instances of the population that you should know:
- The population of politicians in the US
- The population of employees working at Microsoft
- The population of celebrities under a famous record label
- The population of polar bears in Antarctica
To learn more about the population, take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/otJyS8eFbSc.
Sample
Between population and sample, you might say that they are the same, but it’s not. You see, “sample” is just a section or part of a specific population.
They just carry some similar features, and it’s utilized to understand the population easily. Doing so makes it easier to count them.
The “sample” only comes to light when experts wish to conduct several studies on a particular population based on their:
- Tastes,
- Performance,
- Behavior,
- Properties
All these studies are conducted with the help of the sample. This helps develop all the rules or systems that make it easier to gain data on the population. Experts view the “sampling process” as an effective tool.
When you get to utilize it properly, you can easily provide positive outcomes and prevent biased ones.
But one of the biggest advantages of sampling is lessening the expenses. It is mainly because the process helps lessen the components that need to be studied. Besides that, the study will also get conducted within less time.
The most crucial aspect when you conduct the sampling work is to know about “representativeness.”
That way, you will know about all the similar qualities the components have in-store. You can easily prevent a flawed sample from occurring.
Examples Of Sampling
To help you have a good understanding of the sampling process, take a look at these examples:
- Random Sampling
- Simple Random Sampling
- Systematic Sampling
- Stratified Sampling
- Conglomerate Sampling
Difference Between Population And Sampling
By now, you’re already well aware of what exactly is population and sample in research. So, let’s look at some of the primary differences between them:
- The population contains all the components of a specific group. A sample is just a part of the things that are present in the population.
- The population’s features/characteristics are based on the units, and it’s known as a “parameter.” The measurement of the sample is known as “statistics.”
- For population, the information obtained from all the units is known as “complete enumeration” or “census.” For the sample, all the data is collected through the sampling process.
- Under the population and sample in the research category, in the population, the aim is to detect all the features of the components. But for the sample, the goal is to generalize all the population features from where the sample was taken.
- In population, the parameter is said to be a measurable or numerical component. It can easily distinguish the system of a specific set. But statistics in the sample is a descriptive element of the sample that is found through sample proportion.
All surveys conducted on the population will provide precise and accurate results. It’s guaranteed that there will be no error apart from human inaccuracy.
But this might always be possible. For the sample, the survey conducted will surely contain correct outcomes.
This correctness will only occur after properly checking and eliminating all the mistakes or errors.
The relationship between the population and sample might contain differences.
But both of them are to one another. A population can be utilized for drawing in all the samples.
To obtain in-depth knowledge about a population, studying and to research the sample is crucial.
A sample will not exist when there is no population. But when the sample is of higher quality, the generalization will be accurate.
Last Thoughts
To learn and understand several things about a specific population, conducting studies on its sample is important.
Even though the sample is a part/subset of the population, there are differences between them.
Once you know the difference, it will become easier to have a good understanding of both of them.
The contents of this post carry useful information that will surely help you learn more about sampling and population.
