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To determine an appropriate sample size n for estimating proportions, the equation below can be solved, where W represents the desired width of the confidence interval. The resulting sample size formula, is often applied with a conservative estimate of p (e.g., 0.5): = /
The confidence interval can be expressed in terms of probability with respect to a single theoretical (yet to be realized) sample: "There is a 95% probability that the 95% confidence interval calculated from a given future sample will cover the true value of the population parameter."
The probability density function (PDF) for the Wilson score interval, plus PDF s at interval bounds. Tail areas are equal. Since the interval is derived by solving from the normal approximation to the binomial, the Wilson score interval ( , + ) has the property of being guaranteed to obtain the same result as the equivalent z-test or chi-squared test.
In the social sciences, a result may be considered statistically significant if its confidence level is of the order of a two-sigma effect (95%), while in particle physics and astrophysics, there is a convention of requiring statistical significance of a five-sigma effect (99.99994% confidence) to qualify as a discovery. [3]
Classically, a confidence distribution is defined by inverting the upper limits of a series of lower-sided confidence intervals. [15] [16] [page needed] In particular, For every α in (0, 1), let (−∞, ξ n (α)] be a 100α% lower-side confidence interval for θ, where ξ n (α) = ξ n (X n,α) is continuous and increasing in α for each sample X n.
For a confidence level, there is a corresponding confidence interval about the mean , that is, the interval [, +] within which values of should fall with probability . Precise values of z γ {\displaystyle z_{\gamma }} are given by the quantile function of the normal distribution (which the 68–95–99.7 rule approximates).
The rule can then be derived [2] either from the Poisson approximation to the binomial distribution, or from the formula (1−p) n for the probability of zero events in the binomial distribution. In the latter case, the edge of the confidence interval is given by Pr(X = 0) = 0.05 and hence (1−p) n = .05 so n ln(1–p) = ln .05 ≈ −2
Confidence bands can be constructed around estimates of the empirical distribution function.Simple theory allows the construction of point-wise confidence intervals, but it is also possible to construct a simultaneous confidence band for the cumulative distribution function as a whole by inverting the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, or by using non-parametric likelihood methods.