In statistics, p-hat is a symbol used to represent the proportion of a sample with a particular characteristic or outcome. It is often used in hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and estimation of population proportions based on sample data. The actual calculation of p-hat is not challenging. To do it, you need two numbers: the sample size (n) and the number of occurrences of the event or parameter in question (X). The equation for p-hat is p-hat = X/n. For example, if a poll wishes to determine how many Americans agree with the policies of the current president, pollsters would contact a certain number of voters and ask the question. The poll produces a certain number of yes answers and no answers, and p-hat for the poll is calculated by dividing the number of yes answers by the sample size. The value of p remains unknown, and the degree to which its possible to trust p-hat as being an accurate representation of p is known as the confidence level.