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In this session, you will learn how to use results from a random sample to estimate characteristics of an entire population. To predict the accuracy of your estimates, you will investigate the variation in estimates based on repeated random samples from that population. See Note 1 below.
Learning Objectives
In this session, you will estimate population quantities from a random sample. You will learn how to do the following:
• Define an estimate based on sample data
• Select a random sample
• Describe sample-to-sample variation
• Predict the accuracy of an estimate
• Assess the effect of sample size on the accuracy of an estimate
Previously Introduced:
box plot
distribution
interval
population
random assignment
sample
stem and leaf plot
New in This Session:
sample mean
sample size
sampling with replacement
sampling without replacement
Note 1
This session considers the use of random sampling for estimating characteristics of an entire population. Random sampling leads to random variation in estimates, and this variation can be described by a probability distribution. The normal curve approximation, which some statistics learners may be familiar with, is described only briefly. A stem and leaf plot of typical results of independent sample estimates is used for the investigations, which removes a level of abstraction from the description of sampling concepts.