estimand

plural estimands

1. mathematicsthat which is being estimated.

   Statistics needs a term like estimand to replace the lengthy phrase independent variable.

   1939, Charles F. Roos with Victor von Szeliski, “The Concept of Demand and Price Elasticity—The Dynamics of Automobile Demand”, in Journal of the American Statistical Association, volume 34, number 208, →DOI, page 656

   2 more examples

   We speak of the estimator's target as an estimand (as something to be estimated) rather than just as a parameter.

   1968, Frederick Mosteller with John W. Tukey, “Data Analysis--Including Statistics”, in Handbook of Social Psychology, 2nd edition, volume 2: Research Methods, page 106

   When doing causal inference in the competing events setting, it is critical to first ascertain the relevant question and the causal estimand that best answers it, with the choice often being between estimands that do and do not eliminate competing events.

   2020 September, Jacqueline E. Rudolph, Catherine R. Lesko, Ashley I. Naimi, “Causal inference in the face of competing events”, in Current Epidemiology Reports, volume 7, number 3