The Gnumeric Manual
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# Sampling Tool

Figure 46. Sampling Tool Dialog

Use the sampling tool to take a sample of a data set. This tool can take both a random sample of a given size or a periodic sample:

random sample

  A random sample is a subset of the population such that every subset of that size has the same chance of being picked.

periodic sample

  In a periodic sample every `k`th element in the population is selected.

To use this tool, first specify the data set or data sets by setting the "`Input Range:`" entry. The range or ranges given can be grouped into datasets by rows, by columns, or by areas.

If the first entry in each data set contains a variable, select the "`Labels`" option.

Select the sampling method which can be either periodic or random.

random sample

  Specify the size of the random sample in the "`Size of Sample:`" entry.

periodic sample

  Specify the period in the "`Period:`" entry.

Specify the number of samples you would like to obtain in the "`Number of Samples:`" entry.

| Since the period uniquely determines a periodic sample, if you specify that you would like 2 samples you will be given the identical sample twice.

| If the dataset for a periodic sample is a two dimensional range, `Gnumeric` will enumerate the data points by row first.

Figure 47. Some Example Data for the Sampling Tool

Example 13. Using the Sampling Tool

Figure 47 shows some example data and Figure 48 the corresponding output.

Figure 48. Sampling Tool Output

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