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# dsemwd

> Calculate the [standard error of the mean][standard-error] of a double-precision floating-point strided array using Welford's algorithm.

<section class="intro">

The [standard error of the mean][standard-error] of a finite size sample of size `n` is given by

<!-- <equation class="equation" label="eq:standard_error_of_the_mean" align="center" raw="\sigma_{\bar{x}} = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}" alt="Equation for the standard error of the mean."> -->

<div class="equation" align="center" data-raw-text="\sigma_{\bar{x}} = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}" data-equation="eq:standard_error_of_the_mean">
    <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/stdlib-js/stdlib@480295a815ede8e73acc470b7d4228fa0db9ab94/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/stats/base/dsemwd/docs/img/equation_standard_error_of_the_mean.svg" alt="Equation for the standard error of the mean.">
    <br>
</div>

<!-- </equation> -->

where `σ` is the population [standard deviation][standard-deviation].

Often in the analysis of data, the true population [standard deviation][standard-deviation] is not known _a priori_ and must be estimated from a sample drawn from the population distribution. In this scenario, one must use a sample [standard deviation][standard-deviation] to compute an estimate for the [standard error of the mean][standard-error]

<!-- <equation class="equation" label="eq:standard_error_of_the_mean_estimate" align="center" raw="\sigma_{\bar{x}} \approx \frac{s}{\sqrt{n}}" alt="Equation for estimating the standard error of the mean."> -->

<div class="equation" align="center" data-raw-text="\sigma_{\bar{x}} \approx \frac{s}{\sqrt{n}}" data-equation="eq:standard_error_of_the_mean_estimate">
    <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/stdlib-js/stdlib@480295a815ede8e73acc470b7d4228fa0db9ab94/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/stats/base/dsemwd/docs/img/equation_standard_error_of_the_mean_estimate.svg" alt="Equation for estimating the standard error of the mean.">
    <br>
</div>

<!-- </equation> -->

where `s` is the sample [standard deviation][standard-deviation].

</section>

<!-- /.intro -->

<section class="usage">

## Usage

```javascript
var dsemwd = require( '@stdlib/stats/base/dsemwd' );
```

#### dsemwd( N, correction, x, stride )

Computes the [standard error of the mean][standard-error] of a double-precision floating-point strided array `x` using Welford's algorithm.

```javascript
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );

var x = new Float64Array( [ 1.0, -2.0, 2.0 ] );
var N = x.length;

var v = dsemwd( N, 1, x, 1 );
// returns ~1.20185
```

The function has the following parameters:

-   **N**: number of indexed elements.
-   **correction**: degrees of freedom adjustment. Setting this parameter to a value other than `0` has the effect of adjusting the divisor during the calculation of the [standard deviation][standard-deviation] according to `N-c` where `c` corresponds to the provided degrees of freedom adjustment. When computing the [standard deviation][standard-deviation] of a population, setting this parameter to `0` is the standard choice (i.e., the provided array contains data constituting an entire population). When computing the corrected sample [standard deviation][standard-deviation], setting this parameter to `1` is the standard choice (i.e., the provided array contains data sampled from a larger population; this is commonly referred to as Bessel's correction).
-   **x**: input [`Float64Array`][@stdlib/array/float64].
-   **stride**: index increment for `x`.

The `N` and `stride` parameters determine which elements in `x` are accessed at runtime. For example, to compute the [standard error of the mean][standard-error] of every other element in `x`,

```javascript
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );
var floor = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/floor' );

var x = new Float64Array( [ 1.0, 2.0, 2.0, -7.0, -2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 2.0 ] );
var N = floor( x.length / 2 );

var v = dsemwd( N, 1, x, 2 );
// returns 1.25
```

Note that indexing is relative to the first index. To introduce an offset, use [`typed array`][mdn-typed-array] views.

<!-- eslint-disable stdlib/capitalized-comments -->

```javascript
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );
var floor = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/floor' );

var x0 = new Float64Array( [ 2.0, 1.0, 2.0, -2.0, -2.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 ] );
var x1 = new Float64Array( x0.buffer, x0.BYTES_PER_ELEMENT*1 ); // start at 2nd element

var N = floor( x0.length / 2 );

var v = dsemwd( N, 1, x1, 2 );
// returns 1.25
```

#### dsemwd.ndarray( N, correction, x, stride, offset )

Computes the [standard error of the mean][standard-error] of a double-precision floating-point strided array using Welford's algorithm and alternative indexing semantics.

```javascript
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );

var x = new Float64Array( [ 1.0, -2.0, 2.0 ] );
var N = x.length;

var v = dsemwd.ndarray( N, 1, x, 1, 0 );
// returns ~1.20185
```

The function has the following additional parameters:

-   **offset**: starting index for `x`.

While [`typed array`][mdn-typed-array] views mandate a view offset based on the underlying `buffer`, the `offset` parameter supports indexing semantics based on a starting index. For example, to calculate the [standard error of the mean][standard-error] for every other value in `x` starting from the second value

```javascript
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );
var floor = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/floor' );

var x = new Float64Array( [ 2.0, 1.0, 2.0, -2.0, -2.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 ] );
var N = floor( x.length / 2 );

var v = dsemwd.ndarray( N, 1, x, 2, 1 );
// returns 1.25
```

</section>

<!-- /.usage -->

<section class="notes">

## Notes

-   If `N <= 0`, both functions return `NaN`.
-   If `N - c` is less than or equal to `0` (where `c` corresponds to the provided degrees of freedom adjustment), both functions return `NaN`.

</section>

<!-- /.notes -->

<section class="examples">

## Examples

<!-- eslint no-undef: "error" -->

```javascript
var randu = require( '@stdlib/random/base/randu' );
var round = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/round' );
var Float64Array = require( '@stdlib/array/float64' );
var dsemwd = require( '@stdlib/stats/base/dsemwd' );

var x;
var i;

x = new Float64Array( 10 );
for ( i = 0; i < x.length; i++ ) {
    x[ i ] = round( (randu()*100.0) - 50.0 );
}
console.log( x );

var v = dsemwd( x.length, 1, x, 1 );
console.log( v );
```

</section>

<!-- /.examples -->

* * *

<section class="references">

## References

-   Welford, B. P. 1962. "Note on a Method for Calculating Corrected Sums of Squares and Products." _Technometrics_ 4 (3). Taylor & Francis: 419–20. doi:[10.1080/00401706.1962.10490022][@welford:1962a].
-   van Reeken, A. J. 1968. "Letters to the Editor: Dealing with Neely's Algorithms." _Communications of the ACM_ 11 (3): 149–50. doi:[10.1145/362929.362961][@vanreeken:1968a].

</section>

<!-- /.references -->

<section class="links">

[standard-error]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_error

[standard-deviation]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_deviation

[@stdlib/array/float64]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/array-float64

[mdn-typed-array]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/TypedArray

[@welford:1962a]: https://doi.org/10.1080/00401706.1962.10490022

[@vanreeken:1968a]: https://doi.org/10.1145/362929.362961

</section>

<!-- /.links -->