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For an approximately normal data set, the values within one standard deviation of the mean account for about 68% of the set; while within two standard deviations account for about 95%; and within three standard deviations account for about 99.7%. Shown percentages are rounded theoretical probabilities intended only to approximate the empirical ...
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).
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.
The commonly used approximate value of 1.96 is therefore accurate to better than one part in 50,000, which is more than adequate for applied work. Some people even use the value of 2 in the place of 1.96, reporting a 95.4% confidence interval as a 95% confidence interval. This is not recommended but is occasionally seen. [15]
A 95% confidence level does not mean that 95% of the sample data lie within the confidence interval. A 95% confidence level does not mean that there is a 95% probability of the parameter estimate from a repeat of the experiment falling within the confidence interval computed from a given experiment. [25]
When n is greater than 30, this is a good approximation of results from more sensitive tests. For example, a pain-relief drug is tested on 1500 human subjects, and no adverse event is recorded. From the rule of three, it can be concluded with 95% confidence that fewer than 1 person in 500 (or 3/1500) will experience an adverse event.
Small samples are somewhat more likely to underestimate the population standard deviation and have a mean that differs from the true population mean, and the Student t-distribution accounts for the probability of these events with somewhat heavier tails compared to a Gaussian.
Notice that this prediction distribution is more conservative than using a normal distribution with the estimated standard deviation and known mean μ, as it uses the t-distribution instead of the normal distribution, hence yields wider intervals. This is necessary for the desired confidence interval property to hold.