Statistic vs. Parameter

Statisticadjective

alternative form of statistical

Statisticnoun

A single item in a statistical study.

Statisticnoun

A quantity calculated from the data in a sample, which characterises an important aspect in the sample (such as mean or standard deviation).

Statisticnoun

A person, or personal event, reduced to being an item of statistical information.

Statisticadjective

Of or pertaining to statistics; as, statistical knowledge; statistical tabulation.

Statisticnoun

a datum that can be represented numerically

Statisticnoun

a fact or piece of data obtained from a study of a large quantity of numerical data

Statisticnoun

an event or person regarded as no more than a piece of data (used to suggest an inappropriately impersonal approach)

Statisticadjective

another term for statistical

Statistic

A statistic (singular) or sample statistic is any quantity computed from values in a sample which is considered for a statistical purpose. Statistical purposes include estimating a population parameter, describing a sample, or evaluating a hypothesis.

Parameternoun

A value kept constant during an experiment, equation, calculation or similar, but varied over other versions of the experiment, equation, calculation, etc.

Parameternoun

(sciences) a variable that describes some system (material, object, event etc.) or some aspect thereof

Parameternoun

(programming) An input variable of a procedure definition, that gets an actual value (argument) at execution time (formal parameter).

Parameternoun

(programming) An actual value given to such a formal parameter (argument or actual parameter).

Parameternoun

A characteristic or feature that distinguishes something from others.

Parameternoun

(geometry) In the ellipse and hyperbola, a third proportional to any diameter and its conjugate, or in the parabola, to any abscissa and the corresponding ordinate.

Parameternoun

(crystallography) The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane.

Parameternoun

(crystallography) The fundamental axial ratio for a given species.

Parameternoun

A constant number which is part of a theory, function, or calculation, whose value is not determined by the form of the theory or equation itself, and may in some cases be arbitrary assigned.

Parameternoun

A term applied to some characteristic magnitude whose value, invariable as long as one and the same function, curve, surface, etc., is considered, serves to distinguish that function, curve, surface, etc., from others of the same kind or family.

Parameternoun

Any constant number which is required to calculate values of observed phenomena according to a theory, but the value of which must be determined by experiment, and cannot be calculated from the fundamental assumptions of the theory. In general, a theory which has a large number of parameters, though it may accurately predict experimental results, is considered as having less explanatory power and as being less esthetically pleasing than a theory with fewer parameters.

Parameternoun

The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane; also, the fundamental axial ratio for a given species.

Parameternoun

The limits, guidelines, or assumptions from within which an activity is carried out; as, new arrivals need to learn the parameters of the research in our department.

Parameternoun

A variable used in a calculation within a computer program which must be assigned a value before the calculation can be performed; as, let's plug in the parameters and see what the result is.

Parameternoun

A characteristic or element, especially one used as a criterion for evaluation or judgment; as, a useful parameter for determining efficiency.

Parameternoun

a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves

Parameternoun

any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance

Parameternoun

a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data

Parameternoun

a numerical or other measurable factor forming one of a set that defines a system or sets the conditions of its operation

Parameternoun

a quantity whose value is selected for the particular circumstances and in relation to which other variable quantities may be expressed.

Parameternoun

a numerical characteristic of a population, as distinct from a statistic of a sample.

Parameternoun

a limit or boundary which defines the scope of a particular process or activity

Parameter

A parameter (from the Ancient Greek παρά, para: , and μέτρον, metron: ), generally, is any characteristic that can help in defining or classifying a particular system (meaning an event, project, object, situation, etc.). That is, a parameter is an element of a system that is useful, or critical, when identifying the system, or when evaluating its performance, status, condition, etc.