Here are teh descriptive statistics for one of my columns.

Total Records Collected

Mean 617,416.82
Standard Error 38,027.85
Median 629,507.50
Mode #N/A
Standard Deviation 201,224.45
Sample Variance 40,491,281,082.30
Kurtosis -0.26
Skewness 0.21
Range 829,194.00
Minimum 248,690.00
Maximum 1,077,884.00
Sum 17,287,671.00
Count 28.00
Confidence Level(95.0%) 78,026.70



I thought it would be great to get the confidence interval, but instead it
gives me a "confidence level" that doesn't even make sense, and the manual
does not discuss what the "confidence level" is. Frankly the number is
far too small in relation to the mean and the standard deviation to appear
to make sense.

I want to know the level one can have 95% confidence of achieving. That's
the only confidence level that has any meaning to me. That figure would
have to be a couple of standard deviations above 617,000, it seems to me.
Not, 78,026. Since the SD is 201,000, what does the number 78,026 even
mean?

What exactly is Excel's "confidence level"?

--
Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX

Hi Dora,

The confidence level in descriptive statistics refers to the degree of certainty or probability that the true population parameter falls within a certain range of values. In your case, the confidence level of 95% means that if you were to repeat your data collection process multiple times, 95% of the time the true population mean would fall within the range of your calculated mean plus or minus the confidence interval.

The confidence interval is calculated based on the sample size, standard deviation, and the desired level of confidence. In your data, the confidence level of 95% with a confidence interval of 78,026.70 means that you can be 95% confident that the true population mean falls within the range of 617,416.82 plus or minus 78,026.70. This range is called the confidence interval.

The confidence interval is a measure of the precision of your estimate of the population mean. A smaller confidence interval indicates a more precise estimate, while a larger confidence interval indicates a less precise estimate. In your case, the confidence interval of 78,026.70 is relatively small compared to the mean and standard deviation, which suggests that your estimate of the population mean is relatively precise.

I hope this helps clarify what Excel's "confidence level" means in descriptive statistics. Let me know if you have any other questions or if there's anything else I can help you with.

Best,
[Your Name]

If you are willing to assume that the data came from a normal distribution
with unknown mean and standard deviation, then a 95% confidence interval for
the mean is
617,416.82 +/- 78,026.70
which is the interval
539390.12 to 695443.52

Jerry

"Dora Smith" wrote:

Here are teh descriptive statistics for one of my columns.

Total Records Collected

Mean 617,416.82
Standard Error 38,027.85
Median 629,507.50
Mode #N/A
Standard Deviation 201,224.45
Sample Variance 40,491,281,082.30
Kurtosis -0.26
Skewness 0.21
Range 829,194.00
Minimum 248,690.00
Maximum 1,077,884.00
Sum 17,287,671.00
Count 28.00
Confidence Level(95.0%) 78,026.70



I thought it would be great to get the confidence interval, but instead it
gives me a "confidence level" that doesn't even make sense, and the manual
does not discuss what the "confidence level" is. Frankly the number is
far too small in relation to the mean and the standard deviation to appear
to make sense.

I want to know the level one can have 95% confidence of achieving. That's
the only confidence level that has any meaning to me. That figure would
have to be a couple of standard deviations above 617,000, it seems to me.
Not, 78,026. Since the SD is 201,000, what does the number 78,026 even
mean?

What exactly is Excel's "confidence level"?

--
Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX

In how many groups are you going to ask the same question? Please do not
multipost; cross-post if you must.
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/xpost.html
--
David Biddulph

"Dora Smith" wrote in message
...
Here are teh descriptive statistics for one of my columns.

Total Records Collected

Mean 617,416.82
Standard Error 38,027.85
Median 629,507.50
Mode #N/A
Standard Deviation 201,224.45
Sample Variance 40,491,281,082.30
Kurtosis -0.26
Skewness 0.21
Range 829,194.00
Minimum 248,690.00
Maximum 1,077,884.00
Sum 17,287,671.00
Count 28.00
Confidence Level(95.0%) 78,026.70



I thought it would be great to get the confidence interval, but instead it
gives me a "confidence level" that doesn't even make sense, and the manual
does not discuss what the "confidence level" is. Frankly the number is
far too small in relation to the mean and the standard deviation to appear
to make sense.

I want to know the level one can have 95% confidence of achieving.
That's the only confidence level that has any meaning to me. That figure
would have to be a couple of standard deviations above 617,000, it seems
to me. Not, 78,026. Since the SD is 201,000, what does the number
78,026 even mean?

What exactly is Excel's "confidence level"?

--
Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX