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Confidence Level Selection Basics
Choose a confidence level wisely
This guide explains selecting a confidence level: common choices like 90/95/99%, trade-offs between interval width and certainty, and aligning with decision risk and sample size.
- confidence level
- statistics
- interval width
- risk tolerance
- sample size
Know common levels
90%, 95%, and 99% are typical; higher means wider intervals.
Match risk and cost
Use higher levels when wrong decisions are costly; lower when speed matters.
Check sample size
Higher confidence needs more data to avoid overly wide intervals.
Be consistent
Use the same level across related analyses for comparability.