Sampling without Finding Anything

Abstract

Sampling statistics ordinarily take as their point of departure some finding in a sample. Say the sample consists of artifacts, including some projectile points. We can estimate the proportion of projectile points in the artifact assemblage from which the sample came; we can estimate the mean weight of projectile points for the population of projectile points from which the sample came; we can estimate the proportions of different raw materials of which projectile points in the population were made; and so on. Following the procedures discussed in Chapters 9, 10, and 17, we can attach error ranges for particular confidence levels to these estimates.