Sampling and Elusion Testing

Sampling and Elusion Testing

Sampling and Elusion Testing

Elusion testing draws a statistically valid sample from the null set, the documents not selected for review, and examines them for responsiveness. The observed rate estimates how much responsive material eluded the process.

Sample size determines the confidence and margin of error.

Alternative Names:

Elusion Testing, Null Set Sampling

Why it Matters?

Elusion testing is the measurement that makes any culling or technology-assisted process defensible, because it converts a claim of adequacy into a number with a confidence interval. It is also the step parties skip when budgets tighten, which leaves them unable to answer the central question when a process is challenged: how much did you miss. Running the test and documenting the result is substantially cheaper than defending a process without it.

Frequently asked questions

What does elusion testing measure?

What does elusion testing measure?

The rate of responsive documents among those excluded from review, which estimates how much relevant material the process missed.

Why is it worth the cost?

Why is it worth the cost?

Because it produces the measured answer to the question a challenge poses, and defending an unmeasured process is substantially more expensive.