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Statistics · Sampling and Data

Sampling Experiment

CC BY 4.0 · OpenStax · approximately 3 min read

Learning objectives

Sampling Experiment

Student Learning Outcomes

The student will demonstrate the simple random, systematic, stratified, and cluster sampling techniques.
The student will explain the details of each procedure used.

In this lab, you will be asked to pick several random samples of restaurants. In each case, describe your procedure briefly, including how you might have used the random number generator, and then list the restaurants in the sample you obtained.

Restaurants Used in Sample
Restaurants Stratified by City and Entree Cost
Entree Cost	Under $10	$10 to under $15	$15 to under $20	Over $20
San Jose	El Abuelo Taq, Pasta Mia, Emma’s Express, Bamboo Hut	Emperor’s Guard, Creekside Inn	Agenda, Gervais, Miro’s	Blake’s, Eulipia, Hayes Mansion, Germania
Palo Alto	Senor Taco, Tuscan Garden, Taxi’s	Ming’s, P.A. Joe’s, Stickney’s	Scott’s Seafood, Poolside Grill, Fish Market	Sundance Mine, Maddalena’s, Sally's
Los Gatos	Mary’s Patio, Mount Everest, Sweet Pea’s, Andele Taqueria	Lindsey’s, Willow Street	Toll House	Charter House, La Maison Du Cafe
Mountain View	Maharaja, New Ma’s, Thai-Rific, Garden Fresh	Amber Indian, La Fiesta, Fiesta del Mar, Dawit	Austin’s, Shiva’s, Mazeh	Le Petit Bistro
Cupertino	Hobees, Hung Fu, Samrat, China Express	Santa Barb. Grill, Mand. Gourmet, Bombay Oven, Kathmandu West	Fontana’s, Blue Pheasant	Hamasushi, Helios
Sunnyvale	Chekijababi, Taj India, Full Throttle, Tia Juana, Lemon Grass	Pacific Fresh, Charley Brown’s, Cafe Cameroon, Faz, Aruba’s	Lion & Compass, The Palace, Beau Sejour
Santa Clara	Rangoli, Armadillo Willy’s, Thai Pepper, Pasand	Arthur’s, Katie’s Cafe, Pedro’s, La Galleria	Birk’s, Truya Sushi, Valley Plaza	Lakeside, Mariani’s

A Simple Random Sample

Pick a simple random sample of 15 restaurants.

Describe your procedure.

Complete the table with your sample.

1. __________	6. __________	11. __________
2. __________	7. __________	12. __________
3. __________	8. __________	13. __________
4. __________	9. __________	14. __________
5. __________	10. __________	15. __________

A Systematic Sample

Pick a systematic sample of 15 restaurants.

Describe your procedure.

Complete the table with your sample.

1. __________	6. __________	11. __________
2. __________	7. __________	12. __________
3. __________	8. __________	13. __________
4. __________	9. __________	14. __________
5. __________	10. __________	15. __________

A Stratified Sample

Pick a stratified sample, by city, of 20 restaurants. Use 25 percent of the restaurants from each stratum. Round to the nearest whole number.

Describe your procedure.

Complete the table with your sample.

1. __________	6. __________	11. __________	16. __________
2. __________	7. __________	12. __________	17. __________
3. __________	8. __________	13. __________	18. __________
4. __________	9. __________	14. __________	19. __________
5. __________	10. __________	15. __________	20. __________

A Stratified Sample

Pick a stratified sample, by entree cost, of 21 restaurants. Use 25 percent of the restaurants from each stratum. Round to the nearest whole number.

Describe your procedure.

Complete the table with your sample.

1. __________	6. __________	11. __________	16. __________
2. __________	7. __________	12. __________	17. __________
3. __________	8. __________	13. __________	18. __________
4. __________	9. __________	14. __________	19. __________
5. __________	10. __________	15. __________	20. __________
			21. __________

A Cluster Sample

Pick a cluster sample of restaurants from two cities. The number of restaurants will vary.

Describe your procedure.

Complete the table with your sample.

1. ________	6. ________	11. ________	16. ________	21. ________
2. ________	7. ________	12. ________	17. ________	22. ________
3. ________	8. ________	13. ________	18. ________	23. ________
4. ________	9. ________	14. ________	19. ________	24. ________
5. ________	10. ________	15. ________	20. ________	25. ________

Attribution. Statistics, OpenStax, Rice University, and the contributing authors credited in the book. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Source revision 7dea80ae28 of openstax/osbooks-statistics (2026-04-23). CC BY 4.0. Original source ↗. Text edition of a pinned CC BY 4.0 source revision of the OpenStax book, converted from CNXML by the EvidenceHelix importer. Original prose, learning objectives, tables, exercises, glossary and captions are preserved; images are not copied (figures link to the original source and keep their credits). No new content was added. Later revisions of this book can carry different licence terms and are not used.