. Introduction
Cochran (1977) [1] describes systematic sampling thus: suppose that N units in the population are numbered 1 to
N in some order. To select a sample of n units, we take a unit at random from the first k units and every k
th unit
thereafter. The selection of the first k
th units determined the whole sample. This is called an every k
th systematic
sample.
Murthy (1967) [2] states that systematic sampling is operationally more convenient and at the same time
saves time while ensuring equal probability of inclusion of each unit in the sample. He describes technique of
systematic sampling as consisting of selecting every k
th unit starting with the unit corresponding to a number r
chosen at random from 1 to k, where k is taken as the integer nearest to N n . The random number r chosen
from 1 to k is known as random start and the constant k is termed the sampling interval.v