margin of error
Acceptable deviation range
Margin of error is the range within which a true value likely falls.
In polling, a candidate at 52% with a margin of error of ±3% actually sits somewhere between 49% and 55%: The poll showed a dead heat within the margin of error.
The phrase extends to any acknowledged tolerance for imprecision: Leave yourself a margin of error when estimating costs.
Estimated bounds for population parameter
- standard deviationSpread around the mean
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- surveySystematic data collection
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
p-value · sample size · statistical significance · z-score · t-distribution · normal distribution · bell curve · percentage points
Near but inexact value
- estimationApproximate value judgment
- imprecisionLack of exactness
- variabilityTendency to change
- fluctuationIrregular change over time
inaccuracy · guesswork · unpredictability · variance · deviation · dispersion · randomness · noise
Fixed periodic payment
- leewayPermissible margin of freedom
- bufferProtective intermediate space
- wiggle roomFlexibility to adjust
- flexibilityAbility to adapt easily
latitude · slack · breathing room · cushion · play · threshold · upper limit · lower limit
State of being unsure
- exposureState of being unprotected
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- miscalculationError in estimation
misjudgment · overshoot · undershoot · underestimation · overestimation · contingency
Adjusting for measurement accuracy
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
- parallaxPosition change from different vantages
resolution · sensitivity · repeatability · reproducibility · traceability · significant figures
confidence interval
Estimated bounds for population parameter
- standard deviationSpread around the mean
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- surveySystematic data collection
probability · p-value · sample size · statistical significance · z-score · t-distribution · normal distribution · bell curve · percentage points · sampling bias
approximation
Near but inexact value
- estimationApproximate value judgment
- imprecisionLack of exactness
- variabilityTendency to change
fluctuation · inaccuracy · guesswork · unpredictability · variance · deviation · dispersion · randomness · noise · fuzziness
allowance
Fixed periodic payment
- leewayPermissible margin of freedom
- bufferProtective intermediate space
- wiggle roomFlexibility to adjust
flexibility · latitude · slack · breathing room · cushion · play · threshold · upper limit · lower limit · range
uncertainty
State of being unsure
- exposureState of being unprotected
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
miscalculation · misjudgment · overshoot · undershoot · underestimation · overestimation · contingency
calibration
Adjusting for measurement accuracy
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- instrumentationDesign of measuring devices
parallax · resolution · sensitivity · repeatability · reproducibility · traceability · significant figures
- surveyspoll, polls, survey, surveys, questionnaire
- imprecisionimprecision, inexactness, inaccuracy, vagueness, fuzziness
- statisticsmean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation
- analyticsanalytics, metrics, dashboards, KPI, dashboard
- boundsupper bound, lower bound, upper limit, lower limit, limit
- Estimation Typesback-of-envelope, guesstimation, order of magnitude, ballpark figures, confidence interval
margin of errorcertainty
Total absence of doubt
exactness · precision · exactitude · sureness · infallibility