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Statistic
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{{short description|Single measure of some attribute of a sample}} {{other uses|Statistics (disambiguation)}} A '''statistic''' (singular) or '''sample statistic''' is any quantity computed from values in a [[Sample (statistics)|sample]] which is considered for a statistical purpose. Statistical purposes include [[Estimation|estimating]] a [[Statistical population|population]] parameter, describing a sample, or evaluating a hypothesis. The [[Arithmetic mean|average (or mean)]] of sample values is a statistic. The term statistic is used both for the function (e.g., a calculation method of the average) and for the value of the function on a given sample (e.g., the result of the average calculation). When a statistic is being used for a specific purpose, it may be referred to by a name indicating its purpose. When a statistic is used for estimating a population parameter, the statistic is called an ''[[estimator]]''. A population parameter is any characteristic of a population under study, but when it is not feasible to directly measure the value of a population parameter, statistical methods are used to infer the likely value of the parameter on the basis of a statistic computed from a sample taken from the population. For example, the [[sample mean]] is an [[Bias of an estimator|unbiased estimator]] of the [[population mean]]. This means that the [[expected value]] of the sample mean equals the true population mean.{{sfn|Kokoska|2015|p=296-308}} A ''[[descriptive statistic]]'' is used to summarize the sample data. A ''[[test statistic]]'' is used in [[statistical hypothesis testing]]. A single statistic can be used for multiple purposes{{snd}}for example, the sample mean can be used to estimate the population mean, to describe a sample data set, or to test a hypothesis.
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