Reading the science · Part 5: Numbers without fear
Confidence intervals
Lesson 3.5.2 · 6 min read · Professional plan
What you'll learn
- Every study result is an estimate, and a confidence interval shows the range of plausible values.
- STEP 1's difference of -12.44 points had a narrow 95 percent CI (-13.37 to -11.51), far from zero.
- Wide intervals signal considerable uncertainty.
- CIs show how big an effect may be, not just whether one exists.
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