Population vs Sample Statistics Example 4

Follow the full solution, then compare it with the other examples linked below.

Example 4

easy
A website wants to know the average time spent on the site by all visitors. It studies 1,200 randomly selected visits from last month. Identify the population, the sample, and the parameter of interest.

Solution

  1. 1
    Step 1: The population is all visits to the website that the company wants to describe, while the sample is the 1,200 selected visits.
  2. 2
    Step 2: The parameter of interest is the true average time spent on the site for the full population of visits.

Answer

Population: all relevant website visits. Sample: the 1,200 selected visits. Parameter: the true average visit time.
Population, sample, and parameter must be distinguished clearly in statistical studies. The sample provides data, but the goal is usually to learn about a larger population parameter.

About Population vs Sample

In statistics, the population is the entire group of individuals or items you want to study, while the sample is the smaller subset you actually collect data from. We use sample statistics to estimate unknown population parameters.

Learn more about Population vs Sample →

More Population vs Sample Examples

Example 1 easy

A researcher wants to know the average height of all 16-year-olds in the UK. She measures 500 random

Example 2 medium

Distinguish between a parameter and a statistic. Give an example of each.

Example 3 easy

A factory produces 10,000 light bulbs per day. Quality control tests 100 randomly chosen bulbs. Iden

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