intervalliestimaattori

An intervalliestimaattori, or interval estimator, is a statistical method used to estimate an unknown population parameter. Instead of providing a single point estimate, an interval estimator provides a range of plausible values for the parameter. This range is known as a confidence interval. The confidence level associated with the interval indicates the long-run proportion of intervals that would contain the true parameter value if the same estimation process were repeated many times. For example, a 95% confidence interval means that if we were to take many samples and calculate a confidence interval for each, approximately 95% of those intervals would capture the true population parameter.

The construction of an interval estimator typically involves a point estimate, a measure of variability (such as the standard error), and a critical value determined by the desired confidence level and the distribution of the estimator. The width of the confidence interval is influenced by the sample size and the variability of the data. Larger sample sizes and lower variability generally lead to narrower, more precise intervals. Interval estimation is crucial in inferential statistics as it acknowledges the inherent uncertainty in estimating population parameters from sample data, providing a more complete picture than a single point estimate alone.