A method for analyzing database records using sampling includes querying a recipient database for recipients with attributes that match one or more specified recipient attributes, querying a sampling database for transactions with attributes that match one or more specified transaction attributes, where the sampling database stores a subset of transactions that are also stored in a transaction database, intersecting the recipients resulting from the querying of the recipient database and the transactions resulting from the querying of the sampling database based on attributes thereof to create a set of joined sample results, and determining an approximate full count value by extrapolating a count value associated with the set of joined sample results based on both a total number of recipients in the recipient database and a total number of transactions in the transaction database.