  We introduce the basic techniques used for the analysis of three dimensional
and two dimensional galaxy samples. We report the correlation analysis of
various redshift surveys which shows that the available data are consistent
with each other and manifest fractal correlations (with dimension $D \simeq 2$)
up to the present observational limits without any tendency towards
homogenization. This result points to a new interpretation of the galaxy number
counts. We show that an analysis of the small scale fluctuations allows us to
reconcile the correlation analysis and the number counts in a new perspective
which has a number of important implications.
