Abstract
In disease investigation, the term sample is used in two different ways; as a synonym for specimen, as in blood sample, and in the statistical sense of a sub-collection or sub-set of units drawn from the population. Collection and analysis of samples is the basis of investigation, and the validity of the results and conclusions of any study is totally dependent on the quality of the samples collected. Samples of the specimen and statistical types will be discussed separately later in this chapter; a few general principles will be considered first.
“The proper balance lies somewhere between the attitude that if you need statistics your results aren’t any good, and the attitude of the compulsive referee who demanded a statistical test to prove significance when all 1000 nematodes chose chamber A rather than chamber B given a choice and equal access” (Green, 1979).
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Wobeser, G.A. (1994). Samples, Sampling and Sample Collection. In: Investigation and Management of Disease in Wild Animals. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5609-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5609-8_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5611-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5609-8
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