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A
population
is defined as a group of animals that have some
characteristics in common: age, breed, environment, or management. The
target population is the population to which you would like to extrapolate
your results: all colic cases in our example. You might select a sample from
the target population using certain criteria: all colic cases seen at the
Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
This representative
sample of the target population is
the study population. You may
obtain a sample of this population using statistical sampling techniques.
The population finally used for the study is the sampled population. The
validity and precision of your estimates depend on the selection of your
study and sampled population.
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