i.e. a sub-set of the total population.

Or representative subpopulation (no hyphen).

Subpopulation is a statistical term.

There are some hits in Google for this expression (more without a hyphen than with).

HTH,

Is used in current English for market research

that's the usual word for a section of the whole population.

I don't think the word population is necessary here in English; in fact it's a bit of a false friend and a literal translation would sound wooden.

it is a statistical term and definition. "représentative" is exactly it. It means representing the entire population.

Here is the entire sentence in context:
" (although the 15 % women do not constitute a representative population sample, they still will allow a given insight into whether communication concerning product launch and product selection is appealing to them)"

In practice it means, from a methodological point of view, it is not reasonable to make testing on a sample of people made up of 85 %men and 15 % women if the product tested is interesting regardless of gender, as we all know the population is made of about 50-50, increasing towards more women with age.

So in the parenthesis the writer argues that the 15 % are large enough(i.e. the actual figure of women is not say 3 women but maybe 1000) to allow for getting enough answers and in such a way that is widespread enough to reflect how women in general will react once the product is finally launched

Try this out
Good luck!

en démographie comme en statisques, on parle d'échantillonnage...

No hyphen in English.

In stratified sampling.

English:Statistical Methods

stratified sampling s CORRECT,STANDARDIZED

DEF - Of a population which can be divided into different subpopulations (called strata), sampling carried out in such a way that specified proportions of the sample are drawn from the different strata. s
OBS - "stratified sampling": STD by ISO. s


1993-02-01

French:Statistical Methods

échantillonnage stratifié s CORRECT,MASC,STANDARDIZED

sondage stratifié s CORRECT,MASC

DEF - Les strates étant les différentes sous-populations en lesquelles la population à échantillonner peut être divisée, l'échantillonnage stratifié est effectué de sorte que des proportions spécifiées de l'échantillon soient tirées des différentes strates de la population totale. s
OBS - "échantillonnage stratifié": NORM par ISO et AFNOR. s


http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/EMAPDesign/OverviewPages/what_i... are Subpopulations and Why are They Important?

Why is the definition of subpopulations important in the planning of a survey? Subpopulations arise from the questions that a study must answer. For example, the
need for answers on natural and man-made lakes arises from questions posed at the initiation of the study that the trophic status may differ between man-made and
natural lakes. If such a difference exists, then different management strategies may be taken for the two types of lakes. During the initial planning of a study, it is
typical for many subpopulations of interest to be identified. In each case a strong rationale can be given as to why the information on the subpopulation is important.
A study can only meet the expectations of those requiring the information if clarity is reached on what subpopulations estimates will be provided.

Subpopulations are also sometimes referred to as domains of study or reporting units. These phrases imply that the subpopulations are known to be of interest prior
to the conduct of the study. They are sufficiently important that the study would be viewed as incomplete if estimates for them did not appear in a report of the
study’s findings. During the statistical analysis of the study other subpopulations may be identified and reported on, but they would be viewed as providing additional
information rather than essential to the study.

How does identifying subpopulations impact the design of the survey? The expectation is that the survey will provide estimates with acceptable precision for each
subpopulation. Achieving acceptable precision results from having a sufficient number of samples occur within a subpopulation. Assume that 50 samples are needed
to meet the precision requirements. If only the target population is of interest, then a total sample size of 50 is all that is required. However, if three non-overlapping
subpopulations are identified, then 150 total samples would be needed: 50 in each of the three subpopulations. Note that in this case the precision for the target
population will be better than required since it has at least 150 samples. Many times subpopulations overlap so that multiplying the number of subpopulations by the
required sample size results in many more samples than is actually needed. For example, splitting lakes into man-made and natural and into 1 to 50 hectare and
greater than 50 hectare may only require a total of 100 samples as long as the survey design results in 50 samples in each of the four subpopulations. The major
impacts on the design of the survey is the increased sample size requirements and the need for the survey design to make sure that the each subpopulation receives
the minimum required number of samples to meet precision requirements.