About

Population parameter must not be confound with a Statistical Parameter

In statistics, all actual numbers about a population are called a parameter. They are never exactly known and are estimated through a statistic as it deals with a sample.

A statistician would not say that the parameter is a specific number, but would most likely report something like the following: “I am fairly confident that the true number is actually between … and ….”

A parameter is:

  • a statistical measure or number that summarizes the entire population.
  • a numerical measure that describes a characteristic of a population

A parameter describes the population whereas a statistic describes a sample

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