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Sampling With and Without Replacement

When selecting samples, Analyzer makes successive draws from the sampling population. Depending on the sampling method, selected items might be set aside once they are drawn or they might be put back into the stream to be drawn again.

For monetary unit samples, the item selected is actually a cent, not a dollar, so it is unlikely that any numbers in a monetary unit sample will be discarded. The implication of this is that in record sampling the same record will not be selected twice, but in monetary unit sampling, the same record might be selected more than once.

In sampling without replacement, an item once selected is set aside and cannot be drawn again. This changes the probabilities of selection for the items remaining in the selection stream. This is the case in record sampling and in interval sampling with top stratum cutoff.

In sampling with replacement, however, selected items are returned to the stream, making them available for redraw. As a result, the probability of redrawing these items remains the same for successive selections. So the same item can be drawn more than once, as is the case with monetary unit sampling. But you can limit replacement for Monetary Unit Sampling with the “Select items only once” option in the Sample command.

Select Items Only Once Option