Constructing a Stratified Representative Sample of Italian TV Series (2000–2023): A Methodological Framework for Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Since the advent of original content production by streaming platforms, the volume of scripted television has surged, making holistic academic study increasingly challenging. This is particularly true in Italy, where the absence of a national audiovisual archive complicates comprehensive research on domestic TV series. This paper proposes a stratified random sampling methodology for building a representative and updatable sample of Italian television seriality from 2000 to 2023. Using a dataset of over 22.000 episodes from 487 series, stratified by year, genre and distributor, we developed a sample of 431 episodes aimed at balancing representativeness, statistical power and data accessibility. The methodology includes corrective measures in sampling strategies and validation through statistical tests. This approach offers a robust framework for future research on Italian television, supporting diverse analyses while mitigating selection bias and facilitating systematic, replicable and interdisciplinary research in media and communication studies.