Representative sample

A representative sample is similar to an unbiased market research sample; it is a subset of a population that accurately reflects all members of that population. It is made up of a small quantity of something such as customers, students, materials, products, whose characteristics represent the entire population being studied.

Having large numbers of people take part in studies is not enough on its own; the selection of participants is the basis of reliable and meaningful results.

Researchers are often unable to gather data from every single person in a particular population; therefore they rely on a representative sample, which gives an indication of what the population is like, whilst remaining unbiased. The sample needs to remain unbiased to ensure it is not biased towards those more interested in the topic or people who in some way have the same characteristics.

A representative sample is drawn from a population of interest and has demographics and characteristics that match those of the population in as many ways as possible. Some of the factors that are often included in a representative sample include sex, age, level of education, working status and material status.

For example, in a work place of thirty employees in which half the employees are male and half are female, a representative sample might include ten males and ten females.

Why partner with DJS Research?

We build small, director-led, teams of sector experts who are with you from brief to debrief. As an employee-owned company, every one of us is invested in delivering quality, value, and long-term impact.

From agile testing to deep-dive strategic studies, we design research to meet your specific objectives. The agility of our in-house operations team and strength of our UK-wide recruiter network enable seamless execution at scale.

Our sector-focused teams have decades of experience understanding audiences and the complexities of the markets in which our clients operate. Working collaboratively we deliver actionable insight which drives positive change.

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Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.

Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.