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I saw some result that some article used, (without proving) that stated:$$\int_0^1 p^k (1-p)^{n-k} \mathrm{d}p = \frac{k!(n-k)!}{(n+1)!}$$
But I was wondering, how would you integrate it? How did this integral come about? Is it something to do with the binomial distribution?
You can also proof it "by story". Let "random number" mean a number picked from $[0,1]$ with uniform probability. Then the formula below can be interpreted as follows.
$$\int_0^1 p^k (1-p)^{n-k} \mathrm{d}p = \frac{k!(n-k)!}{(n+1)!}$$
The left-hand side is the probability of taking random $p$ and then drawing a sequence of $n$ numbers from which some $k$ numbers are smaller than $p$ and some $n-k$ are larger.
To understand the right-hand side, consider $n+1$ random numbers sorted, so that first $k$ are the smallest and last $n-k$ are the largest (with $(k+1)$-th being our $p$ from left-hand side interpretation); however, there are $(n+1)!$ permutations total, with $k!(n-k)!$ having the desired property (in a sorted sequence we disregard the order of first $k$ and last $n-k$), thus the right-hand side fraction denotes the same probability.
This can be proven using repeated integration by parts: $$\begin{eqnarray} \int_0^1 p^k(1-p)^{n-k} &=& \frac{1^{k+1}(1-1)^{n-k}}{k+1}-\frac{0^{k+1}(1-0)^{n-k}}{k+1}+\frac{n-k}{k+1}\int_0^1 p^{k+1}(1-p)^{n-k-1}\\ &=& \frac{n-k}{k+1}\int_0^1 p^{k+1}(1-p)^{n-k-1}\\ &=& \frac{(n-k)(n-k-1)}{(k+1)(k+2)}\int_0^1 p^{k+2}(1-p)^{n-k-2}\\ &\vdots&\\ &=& \frac{k!(n-k)!}{n!}\int_0^1 p^{n}=\frac{k!(n-k)!}{n!}\frac{1}{n+1}=\frac{k!(n-k)!}{(n+1)!}\\ \end{eqnarray}$$
Not a natural derivation, but there is slightly different approach toward it.
Let's consider the quantity
$$I(n,k) = \int_{0}^{1} \binom{n}{k} p^k (1-p)^{n-k} \; dp.$$
Then by integration by parts, as in two former answers, we have
$$I(n, k+1) = I(n, k).$$
Let $I$ denote this common value. Thus
$$1 = \int_{0}^{1} 1 \; dp = \int_{0}^{1} \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k} p^k (1-p)^{n-k} \; dp = \sum_{k=0}^{n} I = (n+1)I$$
and the result follows.
There are probably several ways. An easy one is by induction on $k$.
If $k=0$, then $$ \int_0^1(1-p)^n\,dp=\left.-\frac{(1-p)^{n+1}}{n+1}\right|_0^1=\frac1{n+1}=\frac{0!(n-0)!}{(n+1)!}. $$ Now assume that the formula holds for some $k$. Then, integrating by parts, $$\begin{eqnarray} \int_0^1p^{k+1}(1-p)^{n-(k+1)}\,dp&=&\int_0^1p^{k+1}(1-p)^{(n-1)-k}\,dp\\ &=&\left.-\frac{p^{k+1}(1-p)^{n-k}}{n-k}\right|_0^1+\int_0^1\frac{(k+1)p^k(1-p)^{n-k}}{n-k}\,dp\\ &=&\frac{(k+1)}{n-k} \frac{k!(n-k)!}{(n+1)!}\\ &=&\frac{(k+1)!(n-(k+1))!}{(n+1)!}. \end{eqnarray}$$ The induction principle then guarantees that the formula holds for all $k$.
