5.1 Identifying and Estimating the Target Parameter
In this chapter, our goal is to estimate the value of an unknown population parameter, such as a population mean or a proportion from a binomial population. For example, we might want to know the mean gas mileage for a new car model, the average expected life of a flat-screen computer monitor, or the proportion of Iraq War veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome.
You’ll see that different techniques are used for estimating a mean or proportion, depending on whether a sample contains a large or small number of measurements. Nevertheless, our objectives remain the same: We want to use the sample information to estimate the population parameter of interest (called the target parameter) and ...
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