(Zang, 2007)Figure 1: Criteria for a sampling plan Development of a sampling plan which outlines what samples to take, when, where and how many samples are to be collected, how often samples are to be collected and by whom How the samples are to be collected: approved methods and equipment Preservation of the samples, prior to analysis, to not introduce further error through sample degradation.

Analysis of samples and designated personnelTominimize the risk of errors in sampling literature suggests that the followingsteps should be carried out:Impropersampling and analysis of collected data can result also in wrong conclusionsbeing obtained due to error and bias being introduced into the experiment. Somecritical; elements of a samples representativeness may include the physicaldimensions of the sample, location and timing of collection.Ultimaterepresentativeness looks at how well the overall data collection design matchesthe environmental condition at the site.

It looks at the sampling and analysis design.Sampling point looks at how ell a sample collected represents thecharacteristics of the sampling point and collected sample representativenessis a measure of how subsampling techniques are during analysis and the use ofproper preparation and analytical procedures. (Zang,2007) Ultimate Sampling point representativeness Collected sample representativenessItcan then be defined in 3 different levels. Itnearly impossible, or highly impracticable to sample everything, as the environmentaround us is vast. Thus, representative portions of the interested area must beobtained to make a statistically sound and correct judgement of the larger vastarea. Representativeness should be the focal point of the design process.

(Zang, 2007). The US EPA defines representativenessas the degree to which data accurately and precisely represents the characteristicsof the population.  (Environmental Protection Agency, 2008)Why is sampling and representativenessimportant?  Research purposes: Characterizing some pollutant level in environmental media to obtain information about fate and transport mechanisms Monitoring purposes for legislative or regulatory purposes, development of environmental databases, trending purposes as well as prevention of accidental releases of some pollutant which can cause harm to human health and environment.Sampling is usuallydone for several reasonsWhy do we need to sample? Sampling is aprocess where a smaller number of observations are taken from a larger populationwith the aim of obtaining statistically valid information (through hypothesesgenerated by the researcher) of the larger population.

Thus, to be an accuratehypothesis, the sample taken should be representative of the entire larger population.To be representative, the sample must be random and encompass the parts of the wholepopulation. Several sampling strategies can be employed to obtainrepresentative samples, which will be discussed later. Environmental samplingis simply taking samples from the environment (air, soil, water)What is sampling?Introduction  DueDate: Monday 15th January 2018Lecturer:Dr.Derrick Ballaadin   Ø  PersonalProtective Equipment {PPE}Ø  Computationof sample sizeØ  SystematicsamplingØ  Simpleand stratified Random samplingØ  RepresentativesamplingEnvironmentalSampling Approach:  Individual Assignment 1 Cohort 10 ID#77476Clara Dassyne Masterof Science in Environmental Management Universityof Trinidad and Tobago ENVR7003: Environmental Monitoring