Standard Error

The standard error of a sample statistic is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of that particular statistic. Since the sample statistic most commonly used is the mean, this is often referred to as the standard error of the mean. The sampling distribution of a sample statistic is its frequency distribution, which is obtained from repeated random samples of size n from a normal population. Because the sampling distribution is derived from many samples drawn from the population, there will be some error in the estimate of the population parameter. Therefore, the standard error is the standard deviation for the distribution of errors, or random statistical fluctuations, that occur when using a sample statistic to estimate a parameter. It represents the variability ...

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