Distinguish between Sample and Population

 Distinguish between a Sample and Population

When we hear the word "population," the first image that comes to mind is one of a sizable crowd of people. Similar to this, the term "population" in statistics designates a sizable group made up of elements sharing at least one characteristic. The phrase is frequently used in opposition to the sample, which is just a subset of the population chosen at random to represent the complete group.

Population is the whole of people, entities, things, and anything else that can be conceived and has particular attributes. Instead, the sample is a limited subset of the population that is chosen through a methodical process in order to determine the features of the parent set. The differences between a sample and a population are discussed in the article that is provided below.

The difference between population and sample can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

The term "population" refers to the totality of all elements in the cosmos that share a common trait. The term "sample" refers to a subset of the population members selected to take part in the study.

Every component of the entire group is included in the population. However, a sample only includes a small portion of the population.

While the measure of a sample observation is referred to as a statistic, a population feature based on all units is referred to as a parameter.

Censuses or comprehensive enumerations are processes that involve gathering data from every unit of the population. The sample survey, on the other hand, is carried out to collect data from the sample using the sampling method.

In a population, the emphasis is on identifying the elements' characteristics, whereas in a sample, the emphasis is on drawing generalizations about the elements of the population that the sample was drawn from.

Despite the above differences, it is also true that sample and population are related, i.e. sample is drawn from the population, so sample may not exist in the absence of the population. Furthermore, the sample's primary goal is to make statistical inferences about the population, which should be as accurate as possible. The greater the sample size, the higher the level of generalization accuracy.

COMPARISON	POPULATION	SAMPLE
Meaning	Population refers to the collection of all elements possessing common characteristics, that comprises universe.	Sample means a subgroup of the members of population chosen for participation in the study.
Includes	Each and every unit of the group.	Only a handful of units of population.
Characteristic	Parameter	Statistic
Data collection	Complete enumeration or census	Sample survey or sampling
Focus on	Identifying the characteristics.	Making inferences about population.