Statistics
Values which summarize properties of the sample are known as statistics. Commonly expressed statistics are the sample mean (
) and the sample variance (s2). In sampling, we use statistics derived from the sample data to infer something about the population parameters, since we assume that the sample is representative of the population.
The inferential relationship between population parameters and sample statistics is covered in the discussions of sample mean and sample variance.
References and Further Reading
Bonham, C.D. 1989. Measurements for terrestrial vegetation. John Wiley Son, New York, NY. pp 50-58.