Sample validation for the experimental mass survey of native russian speakers focussed on the diagnostics of color naming

Mass surveys of native speakers are an intricate research practice in the field of sociolinguistics, connected with many methodological, financial, and organizational difficulties. One of the most noticeable problems of a native speakers’ mass survey is the selection of respondents, who can provide information based on which conclusions can be made about the entire social object to be studied. The objective of this article is to validate the sample calculated for an experimental mass survey of native speakers of Russian. This survey is focused on understanding the actual structure of the colour-naming system, which means to: (1) determine the selecting criteria for respondents; (2) calculate the sample and (3) discuss its representativeness and sufficiency. The paper presents a description of the research toolkit (the RGB and Munsell colour scales) for the online experiment that allows to compare the terms used by native speakers of different languages for naming colours. The linguistic and social objects of the conducted research are also defined in the article. The article provides quantitative data about the population of Russia. Further, the authors represent the strategy of sampling. The calculations based on special formulas made possible to form the representative body of those to be surveyed from the entire population. The proposed way of sampling is being used for current sociolinguistic mass surveys of native speakers of Russian with the aim to test, to which extend their system of colour designation is elaborated. The presented sampling model can also be implemented in the analyses of other linguistic subsystems.