Practical Approach to Sampling

Project implementation cannot be carried out without planning and it can be only as good as the planning itself. Only thorough and systematic planning provides a firm foundation for successful implementation. Poor planning typically leads to ineffectual implementation, which in turn does not produce the data of the type, quality and quantity required for reliable decision-making. 

In environmental chemical data collection, the purpose of field implementation is to collect representative samples for the production of valid and relevant data. To be representative, the samples must have all of the following attributes  

The requirements for the collection of representative samples are documented in the SAP. If all of these requirements are met in the course of field implementation, the collected samples will be representative of the population of interest. The goal for sampling completeness will be also met. Deviations from the SAP requirements have a potential to degrade the DQIs of representativeness and completeness and, consequently, the usability of a data set. The most damaging errors that may take place during field implementation are the collection of unrepresentative samples incomplete sampling that produces data gaps and incomplete documentation that 

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