Coverage probability: Difference between revisions

In statistics, the '''coverage probability''' of a [[confidence interval]] is the proportion of the time that the interval contains the true value of interest.<ref>Dodge, Y. (2003) ''The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms'', OUP. {{ISBN |0-19-920613-9}}</ref> For example, suppose our interest is in the [[expected value|mean]] number of months that people with a particular type of [[cancer]] remain in remission following successful treatment with [[chemotherapy]]. The confidence interval aims to contain the unknown mean remission duration with a given probability. This is the "confidence level" or "confidence coefficient" of the constructed interval which is effectively the "nominal coverage probability" of the procedure for constructing confidence intervals. The "nominal coverage probability" is often set at 0.95. The ''coverage probability'' is the actual probability that the interval contains the true mean remission duration in this example.