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Level of significance

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Level of significance  (LEVEL of significance)


A population parameter1 is a numerical value that characterizes a population. Statistical estimation2 is the name given to the procedure by which the values of such parameters can be estimated from the sample. Such estimates are subject to sampling errors3 and a measure of the magnitude of the sampling error is generally given by the standard error4. Sometimes a confidence interval5 is associated with an estimate to show the limits within which the estimated quantity may be expected to lie. A difference between two values is called a significant difference6 when the probability that it is due to chance is less than a given value which is called the level of significance7. Thus a difference will be significant at the 5 per cent level if the probability that it could have arisen by chance is less than 0.05.


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