n.choosing, as part of appraisal, a portion of a body of records for permanent retention through a statistical process that ensures each file within the series has an equal chance of being included in the retained set of recordsLewinson 1957, 304It was pointed out earlier that archival sampling is sometimes akin to statistical sampling when it aims at the preservation of typical or representative records, but that it is often quite different in its objectives when it aims at the preservation of significant and atypical records only.Hull 1981, 31In effect the key issue is the nature of the informational element in the items falling within these categories and the lack of homogeneity comparable with that found in series of case files and other material sampled in the traditional archive area. In these circumstances it is difficult to understand how quantitative methods, such as random statistical sampling can be applied, though clearly it is possible to carry out a process comparable to that involved in purposive sampling.Peterson 1982a, 12Statistical [Sampling]. Selection based on mathematical techniques that determine the proper number of cases (i.e., size of the sample) and the actual means of selecting specific cases necessary to preserve a “representative” (statistically valid) sample of the entire series.Kepley 1984, 238The archival literature on sampling and how it relates to the appraisal of archives is thin. When the term has been used, it has usually meant one of two things: to cull from a large records series the most significant files or documents for retention (subjective sampling), or to select statistically a small portion from a large universe of information that will accurately reflect all important characteristics of the larger universe (statistical sampling).Guptill 1985, 86In selective sampling, records are chosen for their significance. This is a subjective judgment, and results are more biased than the sample proceeding from statistical sampling, which is systematic and objective. No matter what the method, records should be both voluminous and homogeneous.Fishbein 1987, 232Statistical sampling probably has greater justification because all units have an equal chance of being retained.Bradsher 1988, 106In 1978 a team of appraisers headed by Hindus appraised 35,000 cubic feet of Massachusetts Superior Court files dating from 1859 to 1959. The Hindus team examined 3,400 files of the 2.7 million case files and developed an appraisal plan based on their findings. The success of this project suggested that statistical sampling could be used to appraise the much more voluminous case files of the FBI.Hunter 2020, 63There are two types of statistical sampling. The first, random sampling, has been considered the purest form of sampling because it is freest of biases. . . . ¶ Systematic sampling is considerably faster and easier to manage.
