More on the Mean
Researchers try to get a representative sample of the population to participate in their research.
We often hope that each group / sample that we obtain will tell us something that closely represents that particular population of interest.
When we talk about population, we don't always think of the whole population of that country (though we could if that was the intent). More often, its a segment that we think is different from another segment in our country. For example, the population of men might be different from the population of women in regards to how they compliment their teachers or lecturers on how good a job they do (hint, hint).
If we then take a sample of men from this population, we often represent their mean using the formula:
We often hope that each group / sample that we obtain will tell us something that closely represents that particular population of interest.
When we talk about population, we don't always think of the whole population of that country (though we could if that was the intent). More often, its a segment that we think is different from another segment in our country. For example, the population of men might be different from the population of women in regards to how they compliment their teachers or lecturers on how good a job they do (hint, hint).
If we then take a sample of men from this population, we often represent their mean using the formula:
The sample comes from a population of men, and its mean is often represented using the formula:
Spot the difference yet?
The sample mean is represented by X bar, while the population mean is represented by mu (the greek letter).
Hopefully, its not all Greek to you ;)
The sample mean is represented by X bar, while the population mean is represented by mu (the greek letter).
Hopefully, its not all Greek to you ;)