Scribd
Upload
90 views1 page

Estimation of A Population Mean

Estimation of a population mean involves using sample data to compute the sample mean (x̄), which provides a point estimate of the population mean (μ). Some error exists because the sample is a subset of the population. Interval estimation incorporates the probability of the sampling error based on the sampling distribution of x̄. For large sample sizes, the sampling distribution can be approximated as a normal distribution. A 95% confidence interval for μ is given by x̄ ± 1.96σ/√n, where σ is the population standard deviation estimated using the sample standard deviation. This interval has a 95% chance of containing the true population mean.

Uploaded by

Sheila Marie Fabro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
90 views1 page

Estimation of A Population Mean

Estimation of a population mean involves using sample data to compute the sample mean (x̄), which provides a point estimate of the population mean (μ). Some error exists because the sample is a subset of the population. Interval estimation incorporates the probability of the sampling error based on the sampling distribution of x̄. For large sample sizes, the sampling distribution can be approximated as a normal distribution. A 95% confidence interval for μ is given by x̄ ± 1.96σ/√n, where σ is the population standard deviation estimated using the sample standard deviation. This interval has a 95% chance of containing the true population mean.

Uploaded by

Sheila Marie Fabro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Estimation of a population mean

The most fundamental point and interval estimation process involves the estimation of a
population mean. Suppose it is of interest to estimate the population mean, μ, for a quantitative
variable. Data collected from a simple random sample can be used to compute the sample mean,
x̄, where the value of x̄ provides a point estimate of μ.
When the sample mean is used as a point estimate of the population mean, some error can be
expected owing to the fact that a sample, or subset of the population, is used to compute the point
estimate. The absolute value of the difference between the sample mean, x̄, and the population
mean, μ, written |x̄ − μ|, is called the sampling error. Interval estimation incorporates a
probability statement about the magnitude of the sampling error. The sampling distribution of x̄
provides the basis for such a statement.
Statisticians have shown that the mean of the sampling distribution of x̄ is equal to the population
mean, μ, and that the standard deviation is given by σ/Square root of√n, where σ is the
population standard deviation. The standard deviation of a sampling distribution is called the
standard error. For large sample sizes, the central limit theorem indicates that the sampling
distribution of x̄ can be approximated by a normal probability distribution. As a matter of
practice, statisticians usually consider samples of size 30 or more to be large.

In the large-sample case, a 95% confidence interval estimate for the population mean is given by
x̄ ± 1.96σ/Square root of√n. When the population standard deviation, σ, is unknown, the sample
standard deviation is used to estimate σ in the confidence interval formula. The quantity
1.96σ/Square root of√n is often called the margin of error for the estimate. The quantity σ/Square
root of√n is the standard error, and 1.96 is the number of standard errors from the mean
necessary to include 95% of the values in a normal distribution. The interpretation of a 95%
confidence interval is that 95% of the intervals constructed in this manner will contain the
population mean. Thus, any interval computed in this manner has a 95% confidence of
containing the population mean. By changing the constant from 1.96 to 1.645, a 90% confidence
interval can be obtained. It should be noted from the formula for an interval estimate that a 90%
confidence interval is narrower than a 95% confidence interval and as such has a slightly smaller
confidence of including the population mean. Lower levels of confidence lead to even more
narrow intervals. In practice, a 95% confidence interval is the most widely used.

You might also like