A representative sample is a selection of individuals or cases drawn from a larger population that is statistically found to be typical of that population in terms of key characteristics relevant to the study, such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or opinions. The goal of obtaining a representative sample is to ensure that the findings from the sample can be generalised with a reasonable degree of accuracy to the entire population from which the sample was drawn, allowing researchers to make broader inferences and conclusions about the population as a whole. Various sampling techniques, including random sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling, are used to try to achieve a representative sample.