out the chief features of the distribution of the estimated parameters. We show that the estimated parameters do not lie in a simply connected region around the signal parameters, but instead are distributed in multiple ‘islands’ in the parameter space considered. We next present a geometric representation of our statistical model. We then apply this model to the Newtonian chirp waveform, and compare the model with the Monte Carlo simulations. In section \[PNwave\] we deal with the post-Newtonian waveform. Finally in section \[sec\_con\] we summarise our results. We propose an alternative measure for the error which performs reasonably better than the variance as a measure of the error.

The Signal and the Noise {#waveform}
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The Chirp Signal {#chirp}
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When constructing templates for on-line detection, it is sufficient to work with the so called [*restricted*]{} post-Newtonian gravitational waveform. In this approximation the post-Newtonian corrections are incorporated only in the phase of the waveform, while ignoring corresponding corrections to the amplitude [@3mn]. Consequently, the restricted post-Newtonian waveforms only contain the dominant frequency equal to twice the orbital frequency of the binary computed up to the relevant order. In the restricted post-Newtonian approximation the gravitational waves from a binary system of 