How large is a laboratory's sample size?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Wise v Abbott Laboratories, Limited, 2016 ONSC 7275 (CanLII):

The size of the study is a factor in determining the reliability of its outcomes. It is a mathematical phenomenon known as the Law of Large Numbers that as the size of a sample being tested increases, the value of the average of the outcomes becomes more accurate and the role of chance diminishes. This phenomenon was explained with an example by Justice Osler in Rothwell v. Raes, supra at paras. 67-68, as follows: 67. The importance of chance in a particular study may vary with the size of the study and hence chance is a consideration in deciding on how large a study need be in order to be reliable. 68. A homely example given in the course of the evidence concerned the case of a barrel containing 10,000 marbles, 5,000 of which were, in fact, black and 5,000 of which were white. If one were to withdraw blindly, say 50 marbles, it could well be that something like 30 of these would be black and 20 white. If the composition of the contents of the barrel were to be reported on the basis of such a sample, it would, of course, be erroneous, given the known fact that 50% of the entire contents was composed of each colour of marble.

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