Sampling may refer to: *

Sampling (signal processing) In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of "samples". A sample is a value of the signal at a point in time and/or sp ...

, converting a continuous signal into a discrete signal * Sampling (graphics), converting continuous colors into discrete color components *

Sampling (music) In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, sounds or entire bars of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or ...

, the reuse of a sound recording in another recording **

Sampler (musical instrument) A sampler is an electronic or digital musical instrument which uses sound recordings (or " samples") of real instrument sounds (e.g., a piano, violin, trumpet, or other synthesizer), excerpts from recorded songs (e.g., a five-second bass guita ...

, an electronic musical instrument used to record and play back samples *

Sampling (statistics) In statistics, quality assurance, and survey methodology, sampling is the selection of a subset (a statistical sample) of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. Statisticians attempt ...

, selection of observations to acquire some knowledge of a statistical population *

Sampling (case studies) A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...

, selection of cases for single or multiple case studies * Sampling (audit), application of audit procedures to less than 100% of population to be audited *

Sampling (medicine) In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. In this sense, the sample is the gathered matter ...

, gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. *

Sampling (occupational hygiene) Occupational hygiene (United States: industrial hygiene (IH)) is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control, and confirmation (ARECC) of protection from hazards at work that may result in injury, illness, or affect the well being of work ...

, detection of hazardous materials in the workplace *Sampling (for testing or analysis), taking a representative portion of a material or product to test (e.g. by physical measurements, chemical analysis, microbiological examination), typically for the purposes of identification, quality control, or regulatory assessment. See

Sample (material) In general, a sample is a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount of that thing(s). The things could be countable objects such as individual items available as units for sale, or an uncou ...

. Specific types of sampling include: *

Chorionic villus sampling Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), sometimes called "chorionic ''villous'' sampling" (as "villous" is the adjectival form of the word "villus"), is a form of prenatal diagnosis done to determine chromosomal or genetic disorders in the fetus. It ent ...

, a method of detecting fetal abnormalities *

Food sampling Food sampling is a process used to check that a food is safe and that it does not contain harmful contaminants, or that it contains only permitted additives at acceptable levels, or that it contains the right levels of key ingredients and its lab ...

, the process of taking a representative portion of a food for analysis, usually to test for quality, safety or compositional compliance. (Not to be confused with Food, free samples, a method of promoting food items to consumers) *

Oil sampling Oil analysis (OA) is the laboratory analysis of a lubricant's properties, suspended contaminants, and wear debris. ''OA'' is performed during routine predictive maintenance to provide meaningful and accurate information on lubricant and machine con ...

, the process of collecting samples of oil from machinery for analysis *

Theoretical sampling Theoretical sampling is a process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects codes and analyses data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop a theory as it emerges. The ini ...

, the process of selecting comparison cases or sites in qualitative research *

Water sampling Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

, the process of taking a portion of water for analysis or other testing, e.g. drinking water to check that it complies with relevant water quality standards, or river water to check for pollutants, or bathing water to check that it is safe for bathing, or intrusive water in a building to identify its source. *

Work sampling Work sampling is the statistical technique used for determining the proportion of time spent by workers in various defined categories of activity (e.g. setting up a machine, assembling two parts, idle…etc.). It is as important as all other statis ...

, a method of estimating the standard time for manufacturing operations.

See also