Final answer:
The distance from the sample estimate that has a certain likelihood (equal to reliability) of including the true population value is known as the confidence interval. It depends on the desired confidence level, information known about the distribution, and the sample size.
Step-by-step explanation:
The distance from the sample estimate that has a certain likelihood (equal to reliability) of including the true population value is known as the confidence interval.
A confidence interval is an interval of numbers calculated from a given set of sample data and is likely to include an unknown population parameter. It depends on the desired confidence level, information known about the distribution, and the sample size. The confidence level represents the probability that the confidence interval contains the true population parameter.
For example, if the confidence level is 95 percent, we can say with 95 percent confidence that the true value of the population mean is within the calculated confidence interval.