The Sampling Design Tool for ArcGIS Pro randomly selects people, animals, objects, or places in a GIS environment to infer status or change. It was developed to create and implement a sampling design based on randomized sampling and test different sampling designs to see which is most precise and least costly.
The tool was developed in response to a need by scientists developing sampling strategies in marine environments with limited data. It was produced as part of an iterative process of sampling design development, whereby existing data inform new design decisions. The objective of this process, and hence a product of this tool, is an optimal sampling design that can be used to achieve accurate, high-precision estimates of population metrics at a minimum of cost.
The tool has two main functions: 1) to help select a sample from a population, and 2) to perform sample design analysis. When both of these functions are combined in an iterative manner, the tool effectively and simply achieves the goal of sample surveys—to obtain accurate, high-precision estimates of population metrics at a minimum of cost. It has multiple sampling designs, including random, stratified, and two-stage methods, and allows for area-based sampling.