For instance, if the population consists of n total individuals, m of which are male and f female (and where m + f = n), then the relative size of the two samples (x1 = m/n males, x2 = f/n females) should reflect this proportion. Optimum allocation (or disproportionate allocation) - The sampling fraction of each stratum is proportionate to both the proportion (as above) and the standard deviation of the distribution of the variable. Larger samples are taken in the strata with the greatest variability to generate the least possible overall sampling variance.