a traditional term relating to the degree of measurement refinement. Its use in the calculation of measurement uncertainty has been superseded by concepts such as repeatability and resolution.
A measure of how consistently the result is determined by repeated determinations without reference to any "true" value.
Closeness of agreement between independent test results obtained under prescribed conditions. (Thompson and Wood, 1995)
The repeatability of an instrument, measured by the mean deviation of a set of measurements from the average value. Contrast this to accuracy. As an example of the difference, an instrument can measure a quantity a hundred times and if all the measurements are within a percent of each other it is a precise instrument, but if it has measured the correct value as, say, twice the correct value every time then it is not an accurate instrument or, alternatively, it is precisely wrong.
In information retrieval or corpus-based linguistics, the number of answers in an answer set hypothesis which are also in the answer key, divided by the size of the answer set hypothesis.
A measure of the variability or random variation in a set of data. The inverse of the variance.
(3) Accuracy. The smaller the unit, or fraction of a unit used, the more precise the scale.
Precision is a descriptor of how close estimates will be if we were to conduct our survey over and over again, each time selecting a new sample using the same design. Precise estimators would produce similar estimates across samples. Statisticians typically use the variance to estimate the precision of an estimate.
A measure of the quality of the method or instrument used to obtain a measurement. The number of significant figures, when the result of a measurement is expressed numerically, is an indicator of precision - the larger the number of significant figures, the more precise the measurement. Precision is not to be confused with the term accuracy, which refers to the degree by which a value, or set of values, either measured or calculated, approximates a specified standard for that value.
The agreement of repeated measurements with each other.
(1) The degree of discrimination with which a quantity is stated. For example, a three-digit number discriminates among 1,000 possibilities. (2) Statistical measure of repeatability, usually expressed as variance or standard deviation of repeated measurements about the mean.
"Precision is the measure of how close the data values are to each other for a number of measurements under the same analytical conditions. ICH has defined precision to contain three components: repeatability, intermediate precision, and reproducibility".
( Stat). The degree of concentration of estimates about their mean value in repeated sampling; or the reliability of the determination of the true mean value derived from such estimates. The reciprocal of the variance is a measure of the precision. ( BCFT).
A measure of the extent to which individual measurements of the same quantity agree.
reproducibility. Compare with accuracy. Precision is reproducibility. Saying "These measurements are precise" is the same as saying, "The same measurement was repeated several times, and the measurements were all very close to one another". Don't confuse precision with accuracy.
The amount of relevant results returned by a search engine, usually represented as a percentage measured by dividing the number of relevant returns by the total number of returns. Higher precision means that less irrelevant material is displayed, but relevant material that uses a different vocabulary may also be missed.
In the machine shop this nearly always refires to the degree of exactitude and accuracy of the process and/or the machinist's skill. A milling machine is capable of much more precision than a drill press. A machinist is a precision-machinist when they are capable of making quality parts of the most minimal tolerances.
The degree of agreement of repeated measurements of the same property, expressed in terms of dispersion of test results about the mean result obtained by repetitive testing of a homogenous sample under specified conditions. The precision of a method is expressed quantitatively as the standard deviation computed from the results of a series of controlled determinations.
Measure of reproducibility, or how closely a series of measurements of the same quantity agree with one another. Compare accuracy.
the degree of exactness that measurement can be reproduced. The precision of a measuring tool is limited by the graduations or divisions on its scale.
the possible error in a measurement; the reproducibility, under the same conditions, of a measurement. (see accuracy)
(1) a user-oriented correctness quality requirement specifying either the maximum permitted variability or standard deviation of a quantitative data (e.g., measurements) from its average value, regardless of its accuracy.(2) a quantitative quality factor measuring the variability of a defect from its average value. For example, a temperature sensor is precise to .1 degree Celsius, but not very accurate because it consistently under measures the temperature by 3.5 degrees (i.e., the standard deviation of the temperature measurements may be sufficiently precise, but useless because the average temperature measurement returned by the temperature sensor is 3.5 degrees less than the true temperature making the temperature sensor not very accurate). Contrast with allowable latent defects, accuracy, and timeliness.
The closeness of agreement between randomly selected individual measurements or test results. Also see Accuracy.
Agreement of the results of several independent assays of the same sample. Usually reported as a standard deviation of a specified number of assays. Note that this is about how the measurements are related to each other, and does not indicate how near any one measurement or the mean of several measurements, is to the true value, if that is known.
Accuracy of a scale. The smaller the unit, or fraction of a unit, used, the more precise the scale.
The relative degree of repeatability, i.e. how closely the values within a series of replicate measurements agree. It is the result of resolution and stability. See: accuracy, bias, calibration.
a measure of the extent to which the items retrieved in response to a user's information need are relevant to that need, usually expressed as a percentage or a fraction (earlier, relevance ratio)
The degree of agreement between several measurements of the same quantity under specific conditions. See also accuracy.
a measure of the reproducibility of a method i.e. the closeness of agreement between independent test results, when multiple measurements are made on the sample under the same conditions. The observed values may differ from the true values without affecting the precision and reproducibility (see accuracy).
The degree of exactness with which a quantity is stated; a relative term often based on the number of significant digits in a measurement. See also Accuracy.
The number of decimal places to which a value is given. This usually far exceeds its accuracy. For example, a GIS might give the coordinate of a point location for building to ten decimal places providing a value that is precise to fractions of a centimetre. In reality this value may only be accurate to the nearest ten meters.
The fineness of the measurement. Values from an instrument that measures parts per million are more precise than one which measures in parts per hundred. More precise measurements are not necessarily more accurate. (See Accuracy and Bias.)
the quality of being reproducible in amount or performance; "he handled it with the preciseness of an automaton"; "note the meticulous precision of his measurements"
The smallest place value to which an approximate number or measurement is expressed (e.g., if pi is represented as 3. 14, then its precision is .01).
A measure of how exactly a position is defined. For example, the precise of geographic coordinates specified as degrees, minutes, and seconds is (360°)(60')(60") / 40,000 km, or about 30 meters.
refers to the quality of the operation by which the result is obtained, as distinguished from accuracy.
the relevance to the searcher of the items that are retrieved. If a search retrieves one hundred documents of which ninety-five are very relevant, that search has high precision.
A statistical evaluation of the ability to detect the same value over multiple measurements. Intra-assay Precision looks at the statistical repeatability within a single assay while Inter-Assay Precision looks at the statistical repeatability over a number of different assay runs.
The inverse of the variance of a parameter estimate - a measure of the repeatability or consistency of the estimate. The quality of being sharply defined or stated, ie. lack of random error. Refers to the ability of a test or measuring device to give consistent results when applied repeatedly. See also validity . A good test is both precise and valid which are the two components of accuracy.
the reproducibility of a measurement made multiple times in identical ways. Caused by indeterminate or random errors. Usually quantified by absolute or relative standard deviation.
The degree of similarity among independent measurements of the same quantity, without reference to the known or true value. It often is presented as the inverse of the standard deviation.
1. If applied to paper maps or map databases, it means exactness and accuracy of definition and correctness of arrangement. 2. If applied to data collection devices such as digitizers, it is the exactness of the determined value (i.e., the number 134.98988 is more precise than the number 134.9). 3. The number of significant digits used to store numbers.
the consistency of repeated measurement; expressed by the number of decimal places. If a voltmeter were to make repeated estimates of an unvarying test voltage signal, precision is the standard error of these estimates.
A measure of the reproducibility of a measured value under a given set of conditions.
A measure of the reproducibility of the predictions of a model or repeated measurements, usually in terms of the standard deviation or other measures of variation among such predictions or measurements.
The closeness of agreement ( degree of scatter) between a series of measurements obtained from multiple sampling of the same homogenous sample under the prescribed conditions.
the closeness of an estimate to its mean estimate
The ability of a measurement to be consistently produced
1. Measure of the smallest numerical interval that a fixed-point data type and scaling can represent, determined by the value of the number's least significant bit. The precision is given by the slope, or the number of fractional bits. The term resolution is sometimes used as a synonym for this definition. 2. Measure of the difference between a real-world numerical value and the value of its quantized representation. This is sometimes called quantization error or quantization noise. See also data type, fraction, least significant bit, quantization, quantization error, range, slope
The closeness of approach of each of a number of similar measurements to the arithmetic mean, the sources of error not necessarily being considered critically. Accuracy demands precision, but precision does not require accuracy. See Accuracy.
the degree to which a measurement (e.g., the mean estimate of a treatment effect) is derived from a set of observations having small variation (i.e., close in magnitude to each other). A precise estimate is not necessarily an accurate one. (Contrast with accuracy.)
a description of the amount of deviation from a specific value that is not necessarily the true or actual value. (see graphic) (see accuracy).
the quality of repeatable recognition of minute changes in measuring a parameter. An instrument may be precise but inaccurate and vice versa.
accuracy of language or description
the degree of precision to which time is measured. Electric timing systems must accurately measure to the 1/1000th of a second (.001) precision, and backup timing (hand) systems must accurately measure to the 1/100th of a second (.01) precision
The repeatability of an experiment - The standard deviation of a set of experiments.
The degree of agreement between two or more results on the same property of identical test material expressed as the repeatability or reproducibility of an instruments readings. Precision is a quantitative concept.
The closeness of repeated measurements of the same quantity
Degree of exactness regardless of Accuracy.
The degree of agreement of repeated measurements of the same parameter. Precision estimates reflect random error and are not affected by bias.
The degree of discrimination with which a quantity is stated; for example, a three-digit numeral discriminates among 1000 possibilities. Contrast with accuracy.
A property of measurement based on the size of the unit of measure. The smaller the unit, the more precise the measurement.
The ability of a test device to produce the same value during repeated measurements.
A measure of the reproducibility within a data set. Precision can be measured both within a laboratory and between laboratories using the same test method and toxicant (EPA, 2000).
a measure of how precise or specific an information retrieval system is, or behaves for a given query, computed as the ratio of the number of relevant items retrieved to the total number of items retrieved
The repeatability of a measurement (e.g., the standard error of the sample mean).
the degree of agreement among several measurements of the same quantity; the reproducibility of a measurement.
a measure of how well a result has been determined, without reference to its agreement with the true value; a measurement of the reproducibility of the result.
(of a count or measurement) A measure of how exactly a count or measurement was determined and how reliable or repeatable the result is; a measure of the uncertainty of a result. For example, if several people counted the same things or measured the same object, to what extent would their results agree? The precision of a measurement may be improved by using measuring instruments with smaller units.
Degree of dispersion of results for a repeatedly tested sample. .
The degree of spread or deviation between each measurement of the same part or feature. Repeatability. N/A
The closeness of agreement between independent measurements of a single quality obtained by applying a stated measurement procedure several times under prescribed conditions.
The total variation due to the measurement system.
The degree in which a search engine lists documents matching a query. The more matching documents that are listed, the higher the precision. For example, if a search engine lists 80 documents found to match a query but only 20 of them contain the search words, then the precision would be 25%.
a measure of how many of the results are relavent
A quantitative measure (usually expressed as standard deviation, coefficient of variation, MSR) of the random variation between a series of measurements from multiple sampling of the same homogenous sample under the prescribed conditions.
The closeness of repeated measurements. The degree of variation of repetitive, equivalent readings of measured value. Precision is one of the critical contributors to overall analysis accuracy, and must be known and controlled during analysis. Precision is commonly expressed in terms of CV% (Coefficient of Variation %) or RSD% (Relative Standard Deviation %).
Degree of variation among a set of repeated measurements obtained under similar conditions.
The ability of a measurement to be consistently reproduced.
Also known as repeatability, it is the range of deviations in output position that will occur for 95% of the motion excursions from the same error-free input. Accuracy and precision are not the same.
The repeatability of a measurement. The precision of survey measurements is assumed to be a normal (also known as Gaussian or the bell) curve or, in other words, the statistical variation in survey measurements is assumed to be normally distributed.
The clustering of sample values about their own average; precision is not equivalent to accuracy. It is possible to be very precise, yet not at all accurate. See Accuracy.
The level of agreement between repeated measurements of the same property, expressed in terms of dispersion of test results about the mean result obtained from a homogeneous sample under specified conditions. The precision of a test method can be expressed quantitatively as the standard deviation computed from the results of a series of controlled determinations. Precision is sometimes referred to as the repeatability of a measurement. The observed precision may be combined with probability statistics to provide a rationalized precision statement about a method.
Measure for the reproducibility of measurements within a set, that is, of the scatter or dispersion of a set about its central value. Gold, Loening, McNaught and Sehmi,1987
A description of how sets of measurements or estimates cluster about some value.
The degree of agreement among individual test results when a procedure is applied repeatedly to multiple samplings of a homogeneous sample; the degree of two or more measurements that are obtained under identical conditions using the same test method.
A measure of whether the documents returned in an information retrieval process are relevant to the query. For example, if eighty percent of the documents returned by a query are relevant (and the remaining 20 percent are not) then precision is .80.
A statistical measurement of repeatability that is usually expressed as a variance or standard deviation root mean square (RMS) of repeated measurements. Single-precision coordinates have up to seven significant digits of precision. This allows for a level of accuracy of approximately 10 meters for a region whose extent is 1,000,000 meters across. Double-precision coordinates have up to 15 significant digits, which allows for the precision necessary to represent any desired map accuracy at a global scale.
The degree of refinement with which an operation is performed or measurement stated.
A measure of mutual agreement among individual measurements of the same property, usually under prescribed and similar conditions. Most desirably expressed in terms of the standard deviation, but can be expressed in terms of the variance, pooled estimate of variance, range, relative percent difference, or other statistic.
The reproducibility of a measurement; the closeness of each of a set of similar measurements to the arithmetic mean of that set.
A measure of the reproducibility of a test, including reproducibility within and across doses, rates of administration, routes of administration, timings of imaging after product administration, instruments, instrument operators, patients, and image interpreters, and possibly other variables. Precision is usually expressed in terms of variability, using such measures as confidence intervals and/or standard deviations. Precise tests have relatively narrow confidence intervals (or relatively small standard deviations).
The amount of "scatter" in a collection of measurements. A quantitative measure of precision requires the measurement system be in statistical control. Note that "precision" does not mean that the measurements are at or near a desired target...Only how tightly grouped they are.
The number of significant figures in a measurement. For gravitational acceleration near the earth, g = 9.532706 m/s2 is more precise than g = 9.7 m/s2. Greater precision does not mean greater accuracy! See Accuracy.
The quality and degree of accuracy with which a search engine lists documents that match a query.
A ratio that measures the success of a search. Precision is defined mathematically as the number of relevant items returned by a search divided by the total number of items returned by the search. Precision usually has an inverse relationship to recall ; that is, increasing the precision of a search usually decreases the recall. Precision can be increased by increasing the specificity of vocabulary terms .
In information retrieval, the percentage of hits found by a search that satisfy the request that generated the query.
Refers to the level of measurement and exactness of description in a GIS database. Precise locational data may measure position to a fraction of a unit. Precise attribute information may specify the characteristics of features in great detail. It is important to realize, however, that precise data---no matter how carefully measured---may be inaccurate. Therefore, a distinction is made between precision and accuracy.
The ability of an instrument to measure a process variable and to repeatedly obtain the same result. The ability of an instrument to reproduce the same results.
Reproducibility, the agreement of data points (test results) when a test is run more than once.
The number of digits used to record a measurement or which a measuring device is capable of providing.
A measure of the dispersion of the values observed when measuring a characteristic of elements of a population. The clustering of sample values about their own average.
the degree of agreement between independent measurements of a single quantity obtained by applying a specific measurement procedure several times under prescribed conditions.
The precision of an estimate of a parameter in a model is a measure of how variable the estimate would be over other similar data sets. A very precise estimate would be one that did not vary much over different data sets. Precision does not measure accuracy. Accuracy is a measure of how close the estimate is to the real value of the parameter. Accuracy is measured by the average distance over different data sets of the estimate from the real value. Estimates can be accurate but not precise, or precise but not accurate. A precise but inaccurate estimate is usually biased, with the bias equal to the average distance from the real value of the parameter.
In computer science, precision of a numerical quantity is a measure of the detail in which the quantity is expressed. This is usually measured in bits, but sometimes in decimal digits. It is related to precision in mathematics, which describes the number of digits that are used to express a value.
