<P> The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results . The larger the margin of error, the less confidence one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population . Margin of error is positive whenever a population is incompletely sampled and the outcome measure has positive variance (that is, it varies). </P> <P> The term "margin of error" is often used in non-survey contexts to indicate observational error in reporting measured quantities . </P> <P> The margin of error is usually defined as the "radius" (or half the width) of a confidence interval for a particular statistic from a survey . One example is the percent of people who prefer product A versus product B. When a single, global margin of error is reported for a survey, it refers to the maximum margin of error for all reported percentages using the full sample from the survey . If the statistic is a percentage, this maximum margin of error can be calculated as the radius of the confidence interval for a reported percentage of 50% . </P> <P> The margin of error has been described as an "absolute" quantity, equal to a confidence interval radius for the statistic . For example, if the true value is 50 percentage points, and the statistic has a confidence interval radius of 5 percentage points, then we say the margin of error is 5 percentage points . As another example, if the true value is 50 people, and the statistic has a confidence interval radius of 5 people, then we might say the margin of error is 5 people . </P>

What is margin of error for confidence interval
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