Sampling frame
Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Collection of Data"
Meaning
A sampling frame is the complete list of all the units in a population. The random sample is drawn from this list. Random sampling cannot start without a frame. The frame must be complete and up to date. If it misses some units, those units can never be picked, and the survey becomes biased.
Example
For a survey of a locality, the frame could be a list of all its 300 households. The NSS picks census villages from lists built by the census. Those frames still rest on Census 2011, so new settlements and new urban areas may be missing until Census 2027 is done.
Don't confuse with
- Sample: this is the group actually chosen for study. The frame is the full list the sample is chosen from.
Related concepts
- Census
- Sample survey
- Population
- Sample
- Representative sample
- Population parameter
- Random sampling
- Non-random sampling
- Lottery method
- Random number table