Mathematics
Confidence Intervals
Quick fact
A 95% confidence interval does NOT mean there is a 95% chance the true value lies within that specific interval. Instead, it means that if you repeated the sampling process many times, about 95% of the calculated intervals would capture the true population parameter.
Why this is interesting
You've seen polls with "plus or minus 3 percent" — but what does that really tell you? And why do statisticians say they are 95% confident?