Table of Contents
To select a random sample in Google Sheets, start by selecting the data set that you want to use and then click on “Data” and select “Data Validation”. Next, select “Random” from the “Allow” drop-down menu. Finally, enter the desired sample size and click “Save”. This will generate a random sample from the data set that you selected.
Often you may want to select a random sample from a dataset in Google Sheets. Fortunately this is easy to do using the RAND() function, which generates a random number between 0 and 1.
The following step-by-step example shows how to use this function to select a random sample in Google Sheets.
Step 1: Create a Dataset
First, we’ll enter the values of a dataset into a single column:
Step 2: Create a List of Random Values
Next, type =RAND() into cell B2. This creates a random value between 0 and 1.
Copy and paste this formula into every remaining cell in column B:
Step 3: Copy & Paste the Random Values
Next, highlight the values in column B and click Ctrl + C. This will copy all of the values. Next, right click on cell C2 and choose Paste special > Paste values only.
Note that the values in column B may change once you do this, but don’t worry about this.
Lastly, highlight the values in column C and drag them to replace the values in column B.
Step 4: Sort by the Random Values
Next, highlight cells A2:B16. Then click the Data tab along the top ribbon, then click Sort range.
The values will be sorted based on the random number, from smallest to largest:
Step 5: Select the Random Sample
Lastly, choose the first n rows to be in your random sample. For example, if you want a random sample of size 5, then choose the first 5 raw data values to be included in your sample.
In this example, our random sample would include the first 5 values: 5, 20, 14, 13, 8.
The following tutorials explain how to select a random sample from a dataset using other statistical software: