Glossary

Alternative hypothesis

H1 expresses the way in which the value of a parameter may deviate

from that specified in the null hypothesis.

Bias

The expected value of the estimator minus the parameter of the

population it is estimating.

Binomial distribution

A random variable X is said to follow a Binomial distribution,

X ~ B(n, p), if it has probability distribution

n
n x
P( X x) x p x 1 p


where
x = 0, 1, 2, ......., n
n = the number of trials
p = probability of success at each trial
Binomial random variable

Generally the number of successes in a series of trials. For example,

the number of 'heads' occurring when a coin is tossed 20 times.

Central limit theorem

The central limit theorem states that if the sample size n is large, the
distribution of X will be approximately normal, regardless of how
the population is distributed. If X1, X2, , Xn is a random sample of
size n from a population with mean and variance then X is
2

approximately ~ N ,

If a random sample of n observations X1. X2, , Xn is selected

from N(, 2) then

n 1S 2

~ 2(n 1)

Confidence interval

The range of values for which is likely to take for a given level of
confidence (often 95% or 99%).

Consistent estimator

An unbiased estimator whose variance approaches zero as n

approaches infinity.

Constraint

Explicit limitations in an experiment that reduce the number of

degrees of freedom.

Continuous variable

A variable that can take any value in a given range.

Correlation

A measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables.

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Critical region

The set of values of the test statistic for which the null hypothesis is
rejected in favour of the alternative hypothesis.

Critical value

The threshold to which the value of the test statistic in a sample is

compared to determine whether or not the null hypothesis is rejected.

Degrees of freedom

The number of free choices you can make in the allocation of the
expected frequencies. Number of degrees of freedom = number of
cells (after any combining) number of constraints.

Discrete uniform
distribution

A discrete uniform distribution has equal probability at each of its n

values.

Discrete variable

A variable that can take only specific values in a given range.

Estimator

A statistic used to estimate a population parameter. The particular

value of the estimator generated by a particular sample is called an
estimate.

Expected value

The population mean of a random variable, written E(X).

F-distribution

For a random sample of nx observations from a N(x, x2) distribution

and an independent random sample of ny observations from a
N(y, y2) distribution

s 2x / x2
~ Fn x 1,n y 1
s 2y / 2y
Frequency

The number of observations in a given statistical category.

Hypothesis test

A hypothesis test about a population parameter tests a null

hypothesis H0, specifying a particular value for , against an
alternative hypothesis H1, which will indicate whether the test is
one-tailed or two-tailed.

Normal distribution

A bell-shaped probability distribution.

Null hypothesis

H0 is an assertion that a parameter in a statistical model takes a

particular value.

One-tailed test

A hypothesis test where the values for which the null hypothesis is
rejected are located entirely in one tail of the probability distribution.

Paired t test

A test used for paired experiments when you are interested in the
difference, D, between results. In a paired experiment with a mean of
the differences between the samples of D
D D
~ t n 1
s
n
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Parameter

A quantity, such as a mean, that is calculated from data and describes

a population.

Poisson distribution

A random variable X is said to follow a Poisson distribution, X ~

Po(), if it has probability distribution
P( X x)

x -
e
x!

where
x = 0, 1, 2, ..., n
> 0.
Poisson random variable

Generally a count of the number of events that occur in a certain time

interval or area. For example, the number of cars passing a fixed
point in a 10 minute interval.

Pooled estimate

The pooled estimate of variance is a weighted mean of two variances

with the two weights being (nx 1) and (ny 1). If a random sample
of nx observations is taken from a normal distribution with unknown
variance 2 and an independent sample of ny observations is taken
from a normal distribution that also has unknown variance 2 then a
pooled estimate for 2 is

s
2
p

n x 1s 2x n y 1s 2y

where
Power of the test

nx ny 2

2
x

nx x 2

nx 1

and s

2
y

ny y2

ny 1

The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is not true.

Power = 1 P(type II error)
= P(being in the critical region when H0 is false)

Power function

The function of the parameter which gives the probability that the
test statistic will fall in the critical region of the test if is the true
value of the parameter.

Random variable

A variable that represents the values obtained when we take a

measurement from an experiment in the real world. A random
variable must take a numerical value.

Sampling distribution

The sampling distribution of a statistic T is the probability

distribution of T.

Size of the test

The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is in fact true.

This will equal the probability of a type I error.
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Standard deviation
Standard error

A measure of the spread of a set of data, denoted by .

The standard error of the mean is

s
or
n
n

Statistic

A function of the sample values used to estimate the parameters for

the population. If X1, X2, X3, , Xn is a random sample of size n from
some population then a statistic T is a random variable consisting of
any function of the Xi that involves no other quantities.

Statistical model

A simplified mathematical version of a problem devised to describe,

or make predictions about, a real-world situation.

Statistical test

A test used to compare a prediction (based on a statistical model)

with an observed outcome (based on experimental data).

t-distribution

If a random sample X1, X2, , Xn is selected

from a normal distribution with mean and
unknown variance 2 then
t=

X has a t
S

n-1-distibution

where
S2 =
Test statistic

X 2 nX 2 .
n1

The test statistic in a test for the population mean is Z =

X
,

where is the value given by the null hypothesis and is given.

Two-tailed test

A hypothesis test where the values for which the null hypothesis is
rejected are located in both tails of the probability distribution.

Type I error

A type I error occurs when H 0 is rejected but H 0 is true.

Type II error

A type II error occurs when H 0 is accepted but in fact H 0 is false.

Unbiased estimator

An estimator T is an unbiased estimator of the population parameter

if E(T) = .

Variable

A quantity that can assume any of a set of values.

Variance

A measure of the spread of the values in a distribution, denoted .

The larger the variance, the larger the distance of the individual cases
from the group mean.

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