Selectionarea unui sub-grup reprezentativ pentru o anumita populatie(sau 'univers')de la care se aduna informatii care pot fi generalizate la intreaga populatie in limitele erorii de sampling, limite calculate statistic(vezi: Confidence Limits, Quota Sampling, Random Sampling).
The technique of selecting a representative sub-group of a specified population (or 'universe') from whom to gather information which may be generalised to the whole population within statistically calculable margins of sampling error (see Confidence Limits, Quota Sampling, Random Sampling).