Sampling is a technique used in most geography projects, since it is usually impossible to collect data from the total population. For instance, you cannot conduct a survey of all shoppers using a shopping centre, nor can you identify every single species of vegetation along a stretch of sand dune. Instead, you need to ask a small sample of people, or select a limited number of plants.
Any findings, analysis or conclusions you draw will be based upon your sample, which may not actually be representative of the total population. However, this does not mean your findings are inaccurate or invalid — just that they are likely to have been influenced by your sampling method. Take care, therefore, not to present your results as ‘facts’.
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