Calculate margin of error easily with our calculator
Would you like to calculate the margin of error for your survey? Then simply use our margin of error calculator.
What is the margin of error?
The margin of error – also known as the margin of error – is the value used to evaluate the results of a survey.
Example:
If you carry out a customer survey and only interview some of your customers (sample), the results should be representative of all your customers.
As only a portion of your customers are surveyed in the sample, the results do not reflect the exact opinion of all customers 100%.
The margin of error now defines how far the respective result can deviate from the entirety of your customers and how it should be evaluated.
Let’s assume you have a margin of error of 5% and your survey shows that 40% of your customers would like better support. The interpretation is then:
35 – 45% of your customers want better support.
So you take the margin of error and form the margin of error in the plus and minus range: 35 – 45 %.
What factors influence the margin of error?
The margin of error is influenced by 3 factors:
Sample size
The larger the sample size in relation to the total, the smaller the margin of error, as the larger the sample size, the better the total is reflected and deviations (errors) are reduced.
Confidence level
The confidence level is also directly linked to the margin of error.
The higher the confidence level – i.e. the more precisely the answers in the sample correspond to the total – the lower the margin of error.
Standard deviation
And finally the standard deviation.
The standard value here is 0.5. The lower the standard deviation, the smaller the margin of error.
However, the larger the sample, the more the results will scatter around the average.
A standard deviation of 5 % should therefore always be calculated.
Would you like to know how large the sample size of your survey needs to be? Then use our sample calculator.