Skip to content

Explore Courses | Elder Research | Contact | LMS Login

Statistics.com Logo
  • Courses
    • See All Courses
    • Calendar
    • Intro stats for college credit
    • Faculty
    • Group training
    • Credit & Credentialing
    • Teach With Us
  • Programs/Degrees
    • Certificates
      • Analytics for Data Science
      • Biostatistics
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Novice)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Novice)
      • Social Science
    • Undergraduate Degree Programs
    • Graduate Degree Programs
    • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
  • Partnerships
    • Higher Education
    • Enterprise
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Word Of The Week
    • News and Announcements
    • Newsletter signup
    • Glossary
    • Statistical Symbols
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Testimonials
    • Test Yourself
Menu
  • Courses
    • See All Courses
    • Calendar
    • Intro stats for college credit
    • Faculty
    • Group training
    • Credit & Credentialing
    • Teach With Us
  • Programs/Degrees
    • Certificates
      • Analytics for Data Science
      • Biostatistics
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – Python (Novice)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Experienced)
      • Programming For Data Science – R (Novice)
      • Social Science
    • Undergraduate Degree Programs
    • Graduate Degree Programs
    • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
  • Partnerships
    • Higher Education
    • Enterprise
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Word Of The Week
    • News and Announcements
    • Newsletter signup
    • Glossary
    • Statistical Symbols
    • FAQs & Knowledge Base
    • Testimonials
    • Test Yourself
Student Login

Population

Population

Population:

A population is a large set of objects of a similar nature - e.g. human beings, households, readings from a measurement device - which is of interest as a whole. A related concept is a sample , a subset of objects is drawn from a population.

An important broad class of problems in statistics is concerned with making some conclusions about a population as a whole, when you only have a random sample from this population.

In mathematical statistics, analytical tools are developed mainly for infinite populations. If the population at hand (that is usually finite) is many times larger than the sample, then the infinite population formal model is quite adequate.

A population is not necessarily real - it may be hypothetical or imaginary. For example, outcomes of an experiment , that is carried out infinitely, make a hypothetical population. The goal of inferential statistics is to make conclusions about such a hypothetical infinite population from a finite sample obtained by repetition of the experiment or measurement a finite number of times.

For example, tossing a coin infinitely gives rise to a hypothetical population consisting of "heads" and "tails". If a coin has been tossed a finite number of times, say, 100, then one has at hand only 100 outcomes, say, 55 tails and 45 heads. These 100 head/tail values comprise a sample from the infinite imaginary population.

See also: random sampling , sampling frame , and short courses

Browse Other Glossary Entries

Courses Using This Term

Loading...
Sample Size and Power Determination
This course will teach you how to make sample size determinations for various statistical tests and for confidence intervals, as needed for experimental studies such as comparison studies, as well as for other types of experiments.
Return to Glossary Search

About Statistics.com

Statistics.com offers academic and professional education in statistics, analytics, and data science at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of instruction. Statistics.com is a part of Elder Research, a data science consultancy with 25 years of experience in data analytics.

 The Institute for Statistics Education is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

Our Links

  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team

Social Networks

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Contact

The Institute for Statistics Education
2107 Wilson Blvd
Suite 850 
Arlington, VA 22201
(571) 281-8817

ourcourses@statistics.com

  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Explore Courses
  • About Us
  • Management Team

© Copyright 2023 - Statistics.com, LLC | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Accept