Introduction to Estimation
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Prerequisites
One of the major applications of statistics is estimating population parameters from sample statistics . For example, a poll may seek to estimate the proportion of adult residents of a city that support a proposition to build a new sports stadium. This proportion is called a point estimate of the population proportion. It is called a point estimate because the estimate consists of a single value or point.
Point estimates are usually supplemented by interval estimates called confidence intervals . Confidence intervals are intervals constructed using a method that contains the population parameter a specified proportion of the time.