what does alpha represent in statistics?
<answer> Alpha With respect to estimation problems , alpha refers to the likelihood that the true population parameter lies outside the confidence interval . <context> Alpha With respect to estimation problems , alpha refers to the likelihood that the true population parameter lies outside the confidence interval . Alpha is usually expressed as a proportion. Thus, if the confidence level is 95%, then alpha would equal 1 - 0.95 or 0.05. With respect to hypothesis tests , alpha refers to significance level , the probability of making a Type I error .