Unit 3: ESTIMATION
Question 1: Define the characteristics of an estimator.
Answer: The characteristics of an estimator include unbiasedness, consistency,
and efficiency. An unbiased estimator gives correct estimates on average, a
consistent estimator converges to the true paramneter value as sample size
increases, and an efficient estimator has the smallest variance among unbiased
estimators.
Question 2: Explain the concept of unbiasedness with examples.
Answer: Unbiasedness refers to the property of an estimator where its expected
value equals the true parameter value. For example, if we want to estimate the
mean height of students in a class and we randomly sample some students and
calculate their average height, if this average height equals the true mean height
of allstudents in the class, then the estimator is unbiased.
Question 3: Describe the sufficiency of an estimator.
Answer: Sufficiency of an estimator implies that it contains all the information
in the sample about the parameter being estimated. In other words, given the
estimator, no additional information in the sample provides any further insight
into the parameter. A sufficient estimator condenses all relevant information
from the sample into a statistic, making it efficient for inference.
Question 4: Explain the concept of unbiasedness in the context of estimators.
Answer: Unbiasedness refers to a property of an estimator where, on average, it
produces estimates that are equal to the true value of the parameter being
estimated. In other words, an estimator is unbiased if the expected value of its
estimates equals the true value of the parameter. For example, if we repeatedly
estimate the average incomne of persons in a city using an unbiased estimator,
the average of these estimates over many samples would equal the true average
income of the population.
Question 5: Describe the property of consistency in the context of estimators.
Answer: Consistency is a property of an estimator where it converges
to the
true value of the parameter bcing estimated as the sample size increases
indefinitely. In simpler terms, an estimator is consistent if, as we collect more
data, the estimate it provides becomes closer and closer to the true value of the
parameter. Thisproperty ensures that with larger sample sizes, the probability
of making large errors in estimation decreases.
Question 6: Define the parameter space and give an example.
Answer: The parameter space, denoted by , represents the set of all possible
values that a parameter (or parameters) can take. For instance, if O
represents the
average life of electric bulbs manufactured by a company, then the parameter
space of Ois ={0:0>0}, indicating that can take all possible values
greater than or equal to 0.
Question 7: Define the property of unbiasedness in the context of estimators.
Answer: Unbiasedness of an estimator is characterized by the condition where
the expected value of the estimator is equal to the true value of the parameter
being estimated. In other words, an estimator is considered unbiased if the
average or mean of its sampling distribution equals the true value of the
parameter.
Question 8: Describe the concept of consistency with respect to a sequence of
estimators.
Answer: Consistency of a sequence of estimators for a parameter theta implies
that as the sample size increases indefinitely, the values of the estimators in the
sequence tend toget closer to theta. This ensures that with larger sample sizes,
the probability of making large errors in estimation decreases, and the
estimators provide moreaccurate estimates of the parameter.
Question 9: Define sufficiency in the context of statistical inference.
Answer: Sufficiency is a concept in statistical inference where the aim is to
condense or reduce a random sample (X_1, X_2, .., X_n) into a statistic T =
(X_1, X2, .., Xn) such that it contains all the information about the
parameter theta that is present in the sample. In other words, a sufficient
statistic for a parameter theta contains all the information about theta available
in the sample, and knowing the value of the sufficient statistic makes the sample
values themselves unnecessary for estimating theta
Question 10: Explain the property of sufficiency in the context of statistical
inference.
Answer: Sufficiency of a statistic T for estimating a parameter theta implies
that the conditional distribution of the sample (X_1, X_2, .., x_n)given the
valueof T is independent of theta . In simpler terms, if T is a sufficient statistic
for theta, then the distribution of the samnple given the value of T does not
depend on theta . This property ensures that all the information about theta
contained in the sample is captured by the statistic T.
