standard error

The Difference between Standard Deviation and Standard Error

November 10th, 2023 by

Standard deviation and standard error are statistical concepts you probably learned well enough in Intro Stats to pass the test.  Conceptually, you understand them, yet the difference doesn’t make a whole lot of intuitive sense.

So in this article, let’s explore the difference between the two. We will look at an example, in the hopes of making these concepts more intuitive. You’ll also see why sample size has a big effect on standard error. (more…)


How to Interpret the Width of a Confidence Interval

April 8th, 2019 by

One issue with using tests of significance is that black and white cut-off points such as 5 percent or 1 percent may be difficult to justify.

Significance tests on their own do not provide much light about the nature or magnitude of any effect to which they apply.

One way of shedding more light on those issues is to use confidence intervals. Confidence intervals can be used in univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses and meta-analytic studies.

(more…)