The number that we use from the sample to estimate the population parameter is known as the point estimate. This serves as our best possible estimate of what the true population parameter may be.
Often in statistics we’re interested in measuring population parameters – numbers that describe some characteristic of an entire population. 1. Population mean: the mean value of some variable in a population (e.g. the mean height of males in a certain city)
If the sample mean is 150.4 pounds, then our point estimate for the true population mean of the entire species would be 150.4 pounds. When we collect a sample from a population, we ideally want the sample to be like a “mini version” of our population.
Instead, we might take a simple random sample of 50 turtles and use the mean weight of the turtles in this sample to estimate the true population mean: If the sample mean is 150.4 pounds, then our point estimate for the true population mean of the entire species would be 150.4 pounds.
When we collect a sample from a population, we ideally want the sample to be like a “mini version” of our population.
Although a point estimate represents our best possible estimate of some true population parameter, it’s unlikely that it will exactly match the population parameter.