sample
noun
ˈsɑːmpl 
ˈsæmpl 
1 a number of people or things taken from a larger group and used in tests to provide information about the groupThe interviews were given to a random sample of students.The survey covers a representative sample of schools.a sample survey2 a small amount of a substance taken from a larger amount and tested in order to obtain information about the substancea blood sampleSamples of the water contained pesticide.3 a small amount or example of something that can be looked at or tried to see what it is like‘I'd like to see a sample of your work,’ said the manager.a free sample of shampooWould you like a sample of the fabric to take home?4 (technical) a piece of recorded music or sound that is used in a new piece of music‘Candy’ includes a swirling sample from a Walker Brothers song.
Usage note: Scientific researchTheoryformulate/advance a theory/hypothesisbuild/construct/create/develop a simple/theoretical/mathematical modeldevelop/establish/provide/use a theoretical/conceptual frameworkadvance/argue/develop the thesis that…explore an idea/a concept/a hypothesismake a prediction/an inferencebase a prediction/your calculations on somethinginvestigate/evaluate/accept/challenge/reject a theory/hypothesis/modelExperimentdesign an experiment/a questionnaire/a study/a testdo research/an experiment/an analysismake observations/measurements/calculationscarry out/conduct/perform an experiment/a test/a longitudinal study/observations/clinical trialsrun an experiment/a simulation/clinical trialsrepeat an experiment/a test/an analysisreplicate a study/the results/the findingsobserve/study/examine/investigate/assess a pattern/a process/a behaviour/(especially US) a behaviorfund/support the research/project/studyseek/provide/get/secure funding for researchResultscollect/gather/extract data/informationyield data/evidence/similar findings/the same resultsanalyse/examine the data/soil samples/a specimenconsider/compare/interpret the results/findingsfit the data/modelconfirm/support/verify a prediction/a hypothesis/the results/the findingsprove a conjecture/hypothesis/theoremdraw/make/reach the same conclusionsread/review the records/literaturedescribe/report an experiment/a studypresent/publish/summarize the results/findingspresent/publish/read/review/cite a paper in a scientific journal