--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...>
wrote:> > When words are excluded from a list by design, the
> > selection does not become random and to such a sample, the
> > statistical techniques cannot be applied.
>
> This is nonsense. Swadesh-like lists are not intended to be
> random samples and are not used as if they were.
There is nothing nonsensical about statistical techniques.
Two definitions are critical: population and sample. If a sample is
used to derive the characteristics of a population, the sample has
to be random.
Population
A population is any entire collection of people, animals, plants or
things from which we may collect data. It is the entire group we are
interested in, which we wish to describe or draw conclusions about.
*********************
In order to make any generalisations about a population, a sample,
that is meant to be representative of the population, is often
studied. For each population there are many possible samples. A
sample statistic gives information about a corresponding population
parameter. For example, the sample mean for a set of data would give
information about the overall population mean.
It is important that the investigator carefully and completely
defines the population before collecting the sample, including a
description of the members to be included.
Example
The population for a study of infant health might be all children
born in the U.K. in the 1980's. The sample might be all babies born
on 7th May in any of the years.
Sample
A sample is a group of units selected from a larger group (the
population). By studying the sample it is hoped to draw valid
conclusions about the larger group.
*********************
A sample is generally selected for study because the population is
too large to study in its entirety. The sample should be
representative of the general population. This is often best
achieved by random sampling. Also, before collecting the sample, it
is important that the researcher carefully and completely defines
the population, including a description of the members to be
included.
Example
The population for a study of infant health might be all children
born in the U.K. in the 1980's. The sample might be all babies born
on 7th May in any of the years.
Source:
http://www.cas.lancs.ac.uk/glossary_v1.1/basicdef.html