Statistical Sampling in a Library: The Unexpected Challenges of Data Collection

Abstract

In a world increasingly focused on data-driven decision-making, our techniques for statistical analysis depend on the reliability of data collection itself. However, as I found out while analyzing fiction and nonfiction literature at the UWSP library, collecting representative samples of data often poses significant challenges. In this presentation, I will first explain how I implemented stratified random sampling to gather library data, followed by a discussion of the results and lessons learned.