Definition
Population
The whole group of people, objects, or cases that a statistical question is about.
Continue from this idea into connected AXIO math.
Population means the whole target group; a sample is the smaller group you inspect.
Boundary: A population is set by the statistical question. “People in the city” and “children who use this playground” are different populations even if some people belong to both.
What it means
Start with the question: who or what are we trying to learn about? That whole target group is the population. You may collect data from everyone, or from a smaller sample, but any conclusion should still name the same population.
Remember it
Population means the whole target group; a sample is the smaller group you inspect.
Example
A council wants to know how 1,240 library members travel to the library. All 1,240 members are the population. Asking 120 carefully chosen members gives a sample, not a new population.
Watch for
A population is set by the statistical question. “People in the city” and “children who use this playground” are different populations even if some people belong to both.
Common mix-up
A statistical population does not have to be people; it can be books, trees, journeys, measurements, or other cases.
Exact meaning
In statistics, a population is the complete set of people, objects, events, or measurements about which an investigation aims to learn or draw conclusions.