An Unbiased Variance Estimator with Denominator $N$ (2504.06569v1)

Abstract: Standard practice obtains an unbiased variance estimator by dividing by $N-1$ rather than $N$. Yet if only half the data are used to compute the mean, dividing by $N$ can still yield an unbiased estimator. We show that an alternative mean estimator $\hat{X} = \sum c_n X_n$ can produce such an unbiased variance estimator with denominator $N$. These average-adjusted unbiased variance (AAUV) permit infinitely many unbiased forms, though each has larger variance than the usual sample variance. Moreover, permuting and symmetrizing any AAUV recovers the classical formula with denominator $N-1$. We further demonstrate a continuum of unbiased variances by interpolating between the standard and AAUV-based means. Extending this average-adjusting method to higher-order moments remains a topic for future work.