What is the importance of confidence intervals in statistics?

What is the importance of confidence intervals in statistics?

Confidence intervals provide a range of values that likely contain the true population parameter, helping to quantify uncertainty.

Can you explain how to calculate a confidence interval?

Sure! To calculate a confidence interval, you typically use the formula: CI = sample mean ± (critical value * standard error).

What does the critical value represent?

The critical value represents the number of standard deviations a data point is from the mean, based on the desired confidence level.

How does sample size affect the confidence interval?

A larger sample size generally leads to a narrower confidence interval, indicating more precise estimates of the population parameter.

Can you give an example of a confidence interval in real life?

Certainly! For instance, if a poll shows that 60% of voters support a candidate with a 95% confidence interval of ±3%, the true support is likely between 57% and 63%.