For a set of observations x1, x2,…, xn, the jth (sample) moment about p is equal to
For a random variable X, the jth (population) moment about p is equal to E((X − p)j) (see expected value). The first moment about 0 is the mean. The second moment about the mean is the variance. The jth moment of X, without further specification, refers to the jth moment about 0.
Suppose that a sample is taken from a population with k unknown parameters. In the method of moments, the first k population moments are equated to the first k sample moments to find k equations in k unknowns. These can be solved to find the moment estimates of the parameters.