random sample

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random sample A sample in which each individual measured or recorded (e.g. organism, site, or quadrat) is independent of all other individuals and also independent of prominent features of the area or other unit being sampled. In ecological field surveying, random quadrat sampling is most easily achieved by superimposing a grid over the sample area, and identifying a series of random co-ordinates, using random-number tables, at which to locate the quadrats. Alternatively, a random-walk technique may be used.

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