3. Sources of data > 3.2 Generating your own data > 3.2.1 Understanding population and sample
i. Population
Some examples of populations include:
students enrolled at the University of Wollongong;
substandard dwellings in NSW ;
entry scores of students entering the University of Wollongong.
In studies designed to generate data, populations are generally thought of as being stable and unchanging. This allows researchers to make inferences about a population based on the data that they have generated as the result of a study because they assume that the population has not changed over the course of the study.
The difference between a population and a unit
Identify the population and the unit in the following scenarios.
Scenario
A survey was conducted to answer the question of which important skills Australian university graduates had developed while they were studying at university.
Test your knowledge
Question
In this example the population is:
a) Important skills
b) Australian university students
c) Australian university graduates
d) A survey
Answer
Click here for answers
Test your knowledge
Question
The unit is:
a) A response to a survey question
b) A specific Australian university graduate
c) A specific Australian university
d) A count of the responses of Australian university students
Answer
Click here for answers
Scenario
Samples of water are taken from a river over a one week period, at random times and locations, both downstream and upstream from a nearby town, to establish the effect of activities in the town on the acidity of the river.
Test your knowledge
Question
In this example the population is:
a) A sample of water
b) A town
c) A local river
d) Activities in the town
Answer
Click here for answers
Test your knowledge
Question
The unit is:
a) A sample of water
b) One week period
c) The local river
d) Random times and locations
Answer
Click here for answers
We define a specific population in terms of the information that we want to obtain. If we want to make claims about all university students in Australia, then that becomes our population, even if we only collect our data from one university.
Unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website Copyright notice. For permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us.
