Chapter -2

Simple Random Sampling

Simple random sampling (SRS) is a method of selection of a sample comprising of n number of

sampling units out of the population having N number of sampling units such that every sampling
unit has an equal chance of being chosen.

The samples can be drawn in two possible ways.

• The sampling units are chosen without replacement in the sense that the units once chosen
are not placed back in the population .
• The sampling units are chosen with replacement in the sense that the chosen units are
placed back in the population.

1. Simple random sampling without replacement (SRSWOR):

SRSWOR is a method of selection of n units out of the N units one by one such that at any stage of
selection, anyone of the remaining units have same chance of being selected, i.e. 1/ N .

2. Simple random sampling with replacement (SRSWR):

SRSWR is a method of selection of n units out of the N units one by one such that at each stage of
selection each unit has equal chance of being selected, i.e., 1/ N . .

Procedure of selection of a random sample:

The procedure of selection of a random sample follows the following steps:
1. Identify the N units in the population with the numbers 1 to N .
2. Choose any random number arbitrarily in the random number table and start reading
numbers.
3. Choose the sampling unit whose serial number corresponds to the random number drawn
from the table of random numbers.
4. In case of SRSWR, all the random numbers are accepted ever if repeated more than once.
In case of SRSWOR, if any random number is repeated, then it is ignored and more
numbers are drawn.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 1
 Such process can be implemented through programming and using the discrete uniform distribution.
Any number between 1 and N can be generated from this distribution and corresponding unit can be
selected into the sample by associating an index with each sampling unit. Many statistical softwares
like R, SAS, etc. have inbuilt functions for drawing a sample using SRSWOR or SRSWR.

Notations:
The following notations will be used in further notes:

N: Number of sampling units in the population (Population size).

n: Number of sampling units in the sample (sample size)
Y: The characteristic under consideration
Yi : Value of the characteristic for the i th unit of the population

1 n
y= ∑ yi : sample mean
n i =1
N
1
Y =
N
∑y
i =1
i : population mean

1 N 1 N

=
=∑
S2 (Yi =
N −1 i 1=
− Y )2 (∑ Yi 2 − NY 2 )
N −1 i 1
1 N 1 N
=
σ2 =
= ∑ (Yi − Y )2 =(∑ Yi 2 − NY 2 )
N i 1= N i1
n n
1 1
=
=
s 2
∑ ( yi =
n −1 i 1=
− y) 2
(∑ yi2 − ny 2 )
n −1 i 1

Probability of drawing a sample :

1.SRSWOR:
N
If n units are selected by SRSWOR, the total number of possible samples are   .
n
1
So the probability of selecting any one of these samples is .
N
 
n
Note that a unit can be selected at any one of the n draws. Let ui be the ith unit selected in the
sample. This unit can be selected in the sample either at first draw, second draw, …, or nth draw.
Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 2
 Let Pj (i ) denotes the probability of selection of ui at the jth draw, j = 1,2,...,n. Then

Pj (i=
) P1 (i ) + P2 (i ) + ... + Pn (i )
1 1 1
= + + ... + (n times )
N N N
n
=
N

Now if u1 , u2 ,..., un are the n units selected in the sample, then the probability of their selection is

P(u1 , u2 ,..., un ) = P(u1 ).P(u2 ),..., P(un )

Note that when the second unit is to be selected, then there are (n – 1) units left to be selected in the
sample from the population of (N – 1) units. Similarly, when the third unit is to be selected, then
there are (n – 2) units left to be selected in the sample from the population of (N – 2) units and so on.
n
If P(u1 ) = , then
N
n −1 1
=P(u2 ) = ,..., P(un ) .
N −1 N − n +1
Thus
n n −1 n − 2 1 1
=
P(u1 , u2 ,.., un ) =. . ... .
N N −1 N − 2 N − n +1  N 
 
n

Alternative approach:
The probability of drawing a sample in SRSWOR can alternatively be found as follows:

Let ui ( k ) denotes the ith unit drawn at the kth draw. Note that the ith unit can be any unit out of the N

units. Then so = (ui (1) , ui (2) ,..., ui ( n ) ) is an ordered sample in which the order of the units in which they

are drawn, i.e., ui (1) drawn at the first draw, ui (2) drawn at the second draw and so on, is also

considered. The probability of selection of such an ordered sample is

P ( so ) = P (ui (1) ) P(ui (2) | ui (1) ) P(ui (3) | ui (1)ui (2) )...P(ui ( n ) | ui (1)ui (2) ...ui ( n −1) ).

Here P(ui ( k ) | ui (1)ui (2) ...ui ( k −1) ) is the probability of drawing ui ( k ) at the kth draw given that

ui (1) , ui (2) ,..., ui ( k −1) have already been drawn in the first (k – 1) draws.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 3
Such probability is obtained as
1
P (ui ( k ) | ui (1)ui (2) ...ui ( k −1) ) = .
N − k +1
So
n
1 ( N − n)!
=P( so ) ∏
=
N − k +1
k =1 N!
.

The number of ways in which a sample of size n can be drawn = n !

( N − n)!
Probability of drawing a sample in a given order =
N!
So the probability of drawing a sample in which the order of units in which they are drawn is

( N − n)! 1
=
irrelevant n=
! .
N! N
 
n

2. SRSWR
When n units are selected with SRSWR, the total number of possible samples are N n . The
1
Probability of drawing a sample is .
Nn
Alternatively, let ui be the ith unit selected in the sample. This unit can be selected in the sample
either at first draw, second draw, …, or nth draw. At any stage, there are always N units in the
population in case of SRSWR, so the probability of selection of ui at any stage is 1/N for all i =

1,2,…,n. Then the probability of selection of n units u1 , u2 ,..., un in the sample is

P(u1 , u2 ,.., un ) = P(u1 ).P(u2 )...P(un )

1 1 1
= . ...
N N N
1
= n
N

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 4
Probability of drawing an unit
1. SRSWOR
Let Ae denotes an event that a particular unit u j is not selected at the th draw. The

probability of selecting, say, j th unit at k th draw is

P (selection of u j at k th draw) = P( A1  A2  ....  Ak −1  Ak )

= P( A1 ) P( A2 A1 ) P ( A3 A1 A2 ).....P ( Ak −1 A1 , A2 ...... Ak − 2 ) P ( Ak A1 , A2 ...... Ak −1 )

 1  1  1   1  1
= 1 −  1 −  1 −  ... 1 − 
 N   N −1   N − 2   N − k + 2  N − k +1
N −1 N − 2 N − k +1 1
= . ... .
N N −1 N − k + 2 N − k +1
1
=
N

2. SRSWR
1
P[ selection of u j at kth draw] = .
N

Estimation of population mean and population variance

One of the main objectives after the selection of a sample is to know about the tendency of the data
to cluster around the central value and the scatterdness of the data around the central value. Among
various indicators of central tendency and dispersion, the popular choices are arithmetic mean and
variance. So the population mean and population variability are generally measured by the arithmetic
mean (or weighted arithmetic mean) and variance, respectively. There are various popular estimators
for estimating the population mean and population variance. Among them, sample arithmetic mean
and sample variance are more popular than other estimators. One of the reason to use these
estimators is that they possess nice statistical properties. Moreover, they are also obtained through
well established statistical estimation procedures like maximum likelihood estimation, least squares
estimation, method of moments etc. under several standard statistical distributions. One may also
consider other indicators like median, mode, geometric mean, harmonic mean for measuring the
central tendency and mean deviation, absolute deviation, Pitman nearness etc. for measuring the
dispersion. The properties of such estimators can be studied by numerical procedures like
bootstraping.
Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 5
1. Estimation of population mean
1 n
Let us consider the sample arithmetic mean y = ∑ yi as an estimator of population mean
n i =1
N
1
Y =
N
∑Y
i =1
i and verify y is an unbiased estimator of Y under the two cases.

SRSWOR
n
Let ti = ∑ yi . Then
i =1

n
1
E( y ) = E (∑ yi )
n i =1
1
= E ( ti )
n
 N 
   
1 1 n 
= ∑ ti
n   N  i =1 
  
 n  
N
 
1 1  n  n
=
n  N=
∑  ∑
 i 1= i 1
yi .

 
n
When n units are sampled from N units by without replacement , then each unit of the population
can occur with other units selected out of the remaining ( N − 1) units is the population and each unit

 N − 1 N
occurs in   of the   possible samples. So
 n −1  n
N
 
n
 n
  N − 1 N
So ∑  ∑ y  =  n − 1  ∑ y .
i i
=i 1 =i 1  
=i 1

Now
( N − 1)! n !( N − n)! N
E( y ) =
(n − 1)!( N − n)! nN!
∑i =1
yi
N
1
=
N
∑y
i =1
i

=Y.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 6
Thus y is an unbiased estimator of Y . Alternatively, the following approach can also be adopted to
show the unbiasedness property.
n
1
E( y ) =
n
∑j =1
E( y j )

1 n N 
= ∑  ∑
i 1
n=j 1 =
Yi Pj (i ) 

1 n N 1
= ∑  ∑ Yi . 
i 1 N
n=j 1 =
n
1
=
n
∑Y
j =1

=Y

where Pj (i ) denotes the probability of selection of i th unit at j th stage.

SRSWR
n
1
E( y ) = E (∑ yi )
n i =1
1 n
= ∑ E ( yi )
n i =1
1 n
= ∑ (Y1P1 + .. + YN P)
n i =1
1 n
=
n
∑Y
=Y.
1
where Pi = for all i = 1, 2,..., N is the probability of selection of a unit. Thus y is an unbiased
N
estimator of population mean under SRSWR also.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 7
 Variance of the estimate
Assume that each observation has some variance σ 2 . Then
V (=
y ) E ( y − Y )2
2
1 n 
= E  ∑ ( yi − Y ) 
 n i =1 
1 n 1 n n 
= E  2 ∑ ( yi − Y ) 2 + 2 ∑∑ ( yi − Y )( y j − Y ) 
= n i 1 n i ≠j 
n n n
1 1
= 2 ∑ E ( yi − Y ) 2 + 2 ∑∑ E ( yi − Y )( y j − Y )
n n i ≠j
1 n 2 K
=
n2
∑ σ + n2
N −1 2 K
= S + 2
Nn n
n n
where =
K ∑∑ E ( y − Y )( y − Y )
i ≠j
i i assuming that each observation has variance σ 2 . Now we find

K under the setups of SRSWR and SRSWOR.

SRSWOR
n n
=
K ∑∑ E ( y − Y )( y − Y ) .
i ≠j
i i

Consider
N N
1
E ( y=
i − Y )( y j − Y ) ∑∑ ( yk − Y )( ye − Y )
N ( N − 1) k ≠ 
Since
2
N  N N N

∑ k −  ∑ k
= − + ∑∑ ( yk − Y )( y − Y ))
2
( y Y ) ( y Y )
= k 1=  i 1 k ≠
N N
0 =( N − 1) S 2 + ∑∑ ( yk − Y )( y − Y )
k ≠
N N
1
∑∑ ( y
k ≠
k − Y )( y=
−Y )
N ( N − 1)
[−( N − 1) S 2 ]

S2
= − .
N

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 8
 S2
Thus K =
−n(n − 1) and so substituting the value of K , the variance of y under SRSWOR is
N
N −1 2 1 S2
V ( yWOR )= S − 2 n(n − 1)
Nn n N
N −n 2
= S .
Nn

SRSWR
N N
=
K ∑∑ E ( y − Y )( y − Y )
i ≠j
i i

N N
= ∑∑ E ( y − Y ) E ( y
i ≠j
i je −Y )

=0
because the ith and jth draws (i ≠ j ) are independent.
Thus the variance of y under SRSWR is
N −1 2
V ( yWR ) = S .
Nn
It is to be noted that if N is infinite (large enough), then
S2
V ( y) =
n
N −n
is both the cases of SRSWOR and SRSWR. So the factor is responsible for changing the
N
variance of y when the sample is drawn from a finite population in comparison to an infinite
N −n
population. This is why is called a finite population correction (fpc) . It may be noted that
N
N −n n N −n n
= 1 − , so is close to 1 if the ratio of sample size to population , is very small or
N N N N
n
negligible. The term is called sampling fraction. In practice, fpc can be ignored whenever
N
n
< 5% and for many purposes even if it is as high as 10%. Ignoring fpc will result in the
N
overestimation of variance of y .

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 9
 Efficiency of y under SRSWOR over SRSWR
N −n 2
V ( yWOR ) = S
Nn
N −1 2
V ( yWR ) = S
Nn
N − n 2 n −1 2
= S + S
Nn Nn
= V ( yWOR ) + a positive quantity
Thus
V ( yWR ) > V ( yWOR )
and so, SRSWOR is more efficient than SRSWR.

Estimation of variance from a sample

Since the expressions of variances of sample mean involve S 2 which is based on population values,
so these expressions can not be used in real life applications. In order to estimate the variance of y

on the basis of a sample, an estimator of S 2 (or equivalently σ 2 ) is needed. Consider S 2 as an

estimator of s 2 (or σ 2 ) and we investigate its biasedness for S 2 in the cases of SRSWOR and
SRSWR,

Consider
1 n
=s2 ∑ ( yi − y )2
n − 1 i =1
2
1 n
= ∑ ( yi − Y ) − ( y − Y ) 
n − 1 i =1 
1  n 
=  ∑
n − 1  i =1
( yi − Y ) 2 − n( y − Y ) 2 


1  n 
=
E (s 2 )  ∑
n − 1  i =1
E ( yi − Y ) 2 − nE ( y − Y ) 2 

1  n  1
=  ∑
n − 1  i =1
Var ( yi ) − nVar ( y )  =
 n −1
 nσ 2 − nVar ( y ) 

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 10
 In case of SRSWOR
N −n 2
V ( yWOR ) = S
Nn
and so
n  2 N −n 2
=
E (s 2 ) σ − S 
n − 1  Nn 
n  N −1 2 N − n 2 
= S − S 
n − 1  N Nn 
= S2
In case of SRSWR
N −1 2
V ( yWR ) = S
Nn
and so

n  2 N −n 2
=
E (s 2 ) σ − S 
n − 1  Nn 
n  N −1 2 N − n 2 
= S − S 
n − 1  N Nn 
N −1 2
= S
N
=σ2
Hence
 S 2 is SRSWOR
E (s2 ) =  2
σ is SRSWR

An unbiased estimate of Var ( y ) is

N −n 2
Vˆ ( yWOR ) = s in case of SRSWOR and
Nn
N −1 N 2
Vˆ ( yWR ) = . s
Nn N − 1
s2
= in case of SRSWR.
n

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 11
Standard errors
The standard error of y is defined as Var ( y ) .
In order to estimate the standard error, one simple option is to consider the square root of estimate of
variance of sample mean.

N −n
• under SRSWOR, a possible estimator is σˆ ( y ) = s.
Nn

N −1
• under SRSWR, a possible estimator is σˆ ( y ) = s.
Nn
( y) .
It is to be noted that this estimator does not possess the same properties as of Var

Reason being if θˆ is an estimator of θ , then θ is not necessarily an estimator of θ .
In fact, the σˆ ( y ) is a negatively biased estimator under SRSWOR.

The approximate expressions for large N case are as follows:

(Reference: Sampling Theory of Surveys with Applications, P.V. Sukhatme, B.V. Sukhatme, S.
Sukhatme, C. Asok, Iowa State University Press and Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics,
1984, India)

Consider s as an estimator of S .
Let
S 2 + ε with E (ε ) =
s2 = 0, E (ε 2 ) =
S 2.
Write
s ( S 2 + ε )1/2
=

ε 
1/2

= S 1 + 2 
 S 
 ε ε2 
= S 1 + 2 − 4 + ... 
 2S 8S 
assuming ε will be small as compared to S 2 and as n becomes large, the probability of such an
event approaches one. Neglecting the powers of ε higher than two and taking expectation, we have

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 12
  Var ( s 2 ) 
E ( s=
) 1 −
8S 4 
S

where
2S 4   n − 1  
Var ( s ) =
2
1+   ( β 2 − 3) )  for large N .
(n − 1)   2n  
N j

∑ (Y − Y )
1
=µj i
N i =1

µ4
β2 = : coefficient of kurtosis.
S4
Thus
 1 β − 3
E (s) =
S 1 − − 2
 4(n − 1) 8n 
2
 1 Var ( s 2 ) 
Var ( s ) = S − S 1 −
2 2
4 
 8 S 
2
Var ( s )
=
4S 2
S 2   n −1  
= 1+   ( β 2 − 3)  .
2 ( n − 1)   2n  
Note that for a normal distribution, β 2 = 3 and we obtain

S2
Var ( s ) = .
2 ( n − 1)

Both Var ( s ) and Var ( s 2 ) are inflated due to nonnormality to the same extent, by the inflation factor

  n −1  
1 +  2n  ( β 2 − 3) 
   
and this does not depends on coefficient of skewness.

This is an important result to be kept in mind while determining the sample size in which it is
assumed that S 2 is known. If inflation factor is ignored and population is non-normal, then the
reliability on s 2 may be misleading.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 13
 Alternative approach:
The results for the unbiasedness property and the variance of sample mean can also be proved in an
alternative way as follows:

(i) SRSWOR
With the ith unit of the population, we associate a random variable ai defined as follows:

1, if the i th  unit occurs in the sample

ai = 
0, if the i unit does not occurs in the sample (i =1, 2,..., N )
th

Then,
E (ai ) = 1× Probability that the i th unit is included in the sample
n
= = , i 1, 2,..., N .
N
E (ai2 ) = 1× Probability that the i th unit is included in the sample
n
= =, i 1, 2,..., N
N
E (ai a j ) = 1× Probability that the i th and j th units are included in the sample
n(n − 1)
= = , i ≠ j 1, 2,..., N .
N ( N − 1)
From these results, we can obtain
n( N − n)
Var (ai ) = E (ai2 ) − ( E (ai ) ) = 2 , i =
2
1, 2,..., N
N
n( N − n)
Cov(ai= , a j ) E (ai a j ) − E (ai ) E=
(a j ) ,= i ≠ j 1, 2,..., N .
N 2 ( N − 1)
We can rewrite the sample mean as
1 N
y= ∑ ai yi
n i =1
Then
1 N
=E( y ) = ∑ E (ai ) yi Y
n i =1
and
1  N  1 N N 
Var ( y ) = = 2
Var  ∑ a
 i =1=
i i
y 2 ∑
 n i 1
Var ( ai ) yi
2
+ ∑ Cov(ai , a j ) yi y j  .
n i≠ j 

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 14
 Substituting the values of Var (ai ) and Cov(ai , a j ) in the expression of Var ( y ) and simplifying, we

get
N −n 2
Var ( y ) = S .
Nn
To show that E ( s 2 ) = S 2 , consider

1  n 2 2 1 N 
=
=s2  ∑ y
(n − 1)  i 1 =
i −
= ny   ∑
 (n − 1)  i 1
ai yi2 − ny 2  .

Hence, taking, expectation, we get
1 N 
=
E (s 2 )  ∑ E (ai ) yi2 − n {Var ( y ) + Y 2 }
(n − 1)  i =1 
Substituting the values of E (ai ) and Var ( y ) in this expression and simplifying, we get E ( s 2 ) = S 2 .

(ii) SRSWR
Let a random variable ai associated with the ith unit of the population denotes the number of times

the ith unit occurs in the sample i = 1, 2,..., N . So ai assumes values 0, 1, 2,…,n. The joint

distribution of a1 , a2 ,..., aN is the multinomial distribution given by

n! 1
P(a1 , a2 ,..., aN ) = N
.
Nn
∏a !
i =1
i

N
where ∑a i =1
i = n. For this multinomial distribution, we have

n
E (ai ) = ,
N
n( N − 1)
=
Var (ai ) = , i 1, 2,..., N .
N2
n
Cov(ai , a j ) =− 2 , i ≠ j = 1, 2,..., N .
N
We rewrite the sample mean as
1 N
y= ∑ ai yi .
n i =1
Hence, taking expectation of y and substituting the value of E (ai ) = n / N we obtain that

E( y ) = Y .

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 15
 Further,
1 N N

2 ∑ ∑
=Var ( y ) Var ( ai ) yi
2
+ Cov(ai , a j ) yi y j 
=n  i 1 =i 1 
Substituting, the values of Var (ai ) =
n( N − 1) / N 2 and Cov(ai , a j ) =
−n / N 2 and simplifying, we get

N −1 2
Var ( y ) = S .
Nn
N −1 2
To prove that=
E (s 2 ) = S σ 2 in SRSWR, consider
N
n N
(n − 1) s 2 =
=i 1 =i 1
∑ yi2 − ny 2 = ∑a y i
2
i − ny 2 ,

− n {Var ( y ) + Y 2 }
N
(n − 1) E ( s 2=
) ∑ E (a ) y
i =1
i
2
i

n N ( N − 1) 2
=∑ yi2 − n. S − nY 2
N i =1 nN
(n − 1)( N − 1) 2
= S
N
N −1 2
=
E (s2 ) = S σ2
N

Estimator of population total:

Sometimes, it is also of interest to estimate the population total, e.g. total household income, total
expenditures etc. Let denotes the population total
N
=
YT ∑=
Y
i =1
i NY

which can be estimated by

YˆT = NYˆ
= Ny .

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 16
Obviously

( )
E YˆT = NE ( y )
= NY
( )
Var YˆT = N 2 ( y )
 2  N − n  2 N ( N − n) 2
 N  Nn  S = S for SRSWOR
   n
=
 N 2  N − 1  S 2 = N ( N − 1) S 2 for SRSWOR
  Nn  n

and the estimates of variance of YˆT are

 N ( N − n) 2
 s for SRSWOR

Var (YT ) = 
ˆ n
 N s2 for SRSWOR
 n

Confidence limits for the population mean

Now we construct the 100 (1 − α ) % confidence interval for the population mean. Assume that the

y −Y
population is normally distributed N ( µ , σ 2 ) with mean µ and variance σ 2 . then
Var ( y )

follows N (0,1) when σ 2 is known. If σ 2 is unknown and is estimated from the sample then

y −Y
follows a t -distribution with (n − 1) degrees of freedom. When σ 2 is known, then the
Var ( y )
100( 1 − α ) % confidence interval is given by

 y −Y 
P −Zα ≤ ≤ Zα 1 α
 =−
 2 Var ( y ) 2 
 
or P  y − Z α Var ( y ) ≤ y ≤ y + Zα Var ( y )  =1 − α
 2 2 
and the confidence limits are
 
 y − Zα Var ( y ), y + Z α Var ( y 
 2 2 

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 17
 α
when Z α denotes the upper % points on N (0,1) distribution. Similarly, when σ 2 is unknown,
2 2
then the 100(1- 1 − α ) % confidence interval is

 y −Y 
P  −tα ≤ ≤ tα  =1 − α
 2 Varˆ( y ) 2 

 
or P  y − tα ≤ Varˆ( y ) ≤ y ≤ y + tα Varˆ( y )  =1 − α
 2 2 
and the confidence limits are
 
 y − tα ≤ Varˆ( y ) ≤ y + tα Varˆ( y ) 
 2 2 
α
where tα denotes the upper % points on t -distribution with (n − 1) degrees of freedom.
2 2

Determination of sample size

The size of the sample is needed before the survey starts and goes into operation. One point to be
kept is mind is that when the sample size increases, the variance of estimators decreases but the cost
of survey increases and vice versa. So there has to be a balance between the two aspects. The
sample size can be determined on the basis of prescribed values of standard error of sample mean,
error of estimation, width of the confidence interval, coefficient of variation of sample mean,
relative error of sample mean or total cost among several others.

An important constraint or need to determine the sample size is that the information regarding the
population standard derivation S should be known for these criterion. The reason and need for this
will be clear when we derive the sample size in the next section. A question arises about how to
have information about S before hand? The possible solutions to this issue are to conduct a pilot
survey and collect a preliminary sample of small size, estimate S and use it as known value of S
it. Alternatively, such information can also be collected from past data, past experience, long
association of experimenter with the experiment, prior information etc.

Now we find the sample size under different criteria assuming that the samples have been drawn
using SRSWOR. The case for SRSWR can be derived similarly.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 18
1. Prespecified variance
The sample size is to be determined such that the variance of y should not exceed a given value, say
V. In this case, find n such that
Var ( y ) ≤ V
N −n
or ( y) ≤ V
Nn
N −n 2
or S ≤V
Nn
1 1 V
or − ≤ 2
n N S
1 1 1
or − ≤
n N ne
ne
n≥
n
1+ e
N
S2
where ne = .
v
It may be noted here that ne can be known only when S 2 is known. This reason compels to assume

that S should be known. The same reason will also be seen in other cases.
The smallest sample size needed in this case is
ne
nsmallest = .
ne
1+
N
It N is large, then the required n is
n ≥ ne and nsmallest = ne .

2. Pre-specified estimation error

It may be possible to have some prior knowledge of population mean Y and it may be required that
the sample mean y should not differ from it by more than a specified amount of absolute
estimation error, i.e., which is a small quantity. Such requirement can be satisfied by associating a
probability (1 − α ) with it and can be expressed as

P  y − Y ≤ e  = (1 − α ).

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 19
 N −n 2
Since y follows N (Y , S ) assuming the normal distribution for the population, we can write
Nn
 y −Y e 
P ≤ =1−α
 Var ( y ) Var ( y ) 

which implies that

e
= Zα
Var ( y ) 2

or Z α2 Var ( y ) = e 2
2

N −n 2
or Z α2 S = e2
2 Nn

  Z S 2 
  α2  
   
  e  
or n =    
  Zα S  
2

 1 2  
 1+  
 N  e  
   
which is the required sample size. If N is large then
2
 Zα S 
 
n =  2e  .
 
 

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 20
3. Pre-specified width of confidence interval
If the requirement is that the width of the confidence interval of y with confidence coefficient
(1 − α ) should not exceed a prespecified amount W , then the sample size n is determined such that

2 Z α Var ( y ) ≤ W
2

assuming σ 2 is known and population is normally distributed. This can be expressed as

N −n
2Z α S ≤W
2 Nn

1 1 
or 4Z α2  −  S 2 ≤ W 2
2 n N

1 1 W2
or ≤ +
n N 4 Z α2 S 2
2

4Z α2 S 2
2

or n ≥ W2 .
4Z α2 S 2
1+ 2
NW 2
The minimum sample size required is
4 Z α2 S 2
2

nsmallest = W2
4 Z α2 S 2
1+ 2
NW 2
If N is large then
4Z α2 S 2
n≥ 2
W2
and the minimum sample size needed is
4Z α2 S 2
nsmallest = 2
.
W2

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 21
4. Pre-specified coefficient of variation
The coefficient of variation (CV) is defined as the ratio of standard error (or standard deviation)
and mean. The knowledge of coefficient of variation has played an important role in the sampling
theory as this information has helped in deriving efficient estimators.

If it is desired that the the coefficient of variation of y should not exceed a given or pre-specified

value of coefficient of variation, say C0 , then the required sample size n is to be determined such
that
CV ( y ) ≤ C0

Var ( y )
or ≤ C0
Y
N −n 2
S
or Nn 2 ≤ C02
Y
1 1 C02
or − ≤
n N C2
C2
Co2
or n ≥
C2
1+
NC02
S
is the required sample size where C = is the population coefficient of variation.
Y
The smallest sample size needed in this case is
C2
C02
nsmallest = .
C2
1+
NC02
If N is large, then
C2
n≥
C02
C2
and nsmalest =
C02

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 22
5. Pre-specified relative error
When y is used for estimating the population mean Y , then the relative estimation error is defined

y −Y
as . If it is required that such relative estimation error should not exceed a pre-specified value
Y
R with probability (1 − α ) , then such requirement can be satisfied by expressing it like such
requirement can be satisfied by expressing it like
 y −Y RY 
P ≤ =1−α.
 Var ( y ) Var ( y ) 

 N −n 2
Assuming the population to be normally distributed, y follows N  Y , S .
 Nn 

So it can be written that

RY
= Zα .
Var ( y ) 2

 N −n 2
or Z α2  S = R Y
2 2

2  Nn 

1 1  R2
or  −  =
 n N  C Zα
2 2

2
 Zα C 
 2 
 R 
 
or n =  
2
 Zα C 
1  
1+  2 
N R 
 
S
where C = is the population coefficient of variation and should be known.
Y
If N is large, then
2
 zα C 
n= 2  .
 R 
 
 

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 23
6. Pre-specified cost
Let an amount of money C is being designated for sample survey to called n observations, C0 be

the overhead cost and C1 be the cost of collection of one unit in the sample. Then the total cost C
can be expressed as
= C0 + nC1
C

C − C0
Or n =
C1
is the required sample size.

Sampling Theory| Chapter 2 | Simple Random Sampling | Shalabh, IIT Kanpur Page 24