Good–Turing Unseen Mass
Use singleton species to estimate unseen probability mass and inspect the estimator’s limits.
Free theory articleUse singleton species to estimate unseen probability mass and inspect the estimator’s limits.
Concept & interpretation
This theory covers the derivation and limitations of the Good–Turing estimator.
Experiment
In the interactive module, you can test different sampling scenarios:
- Set Population to "Skewed".
- Set Sample to "Singletons". The Good-Turing estimate is 1.0, but the actual missing mass is only 0.0625, leading to a large error.
- Change Sample to "Repeated" (where there are no singletons). The missing mass estimate drops to 0, despite actual missing mass still being positive.