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StatisticsInferential Statistics

How to Tell Confidence Intervals from Error Bars—and Interpret Overlap

Learn how to tell confidence intervals from error bars by checking the legend, distinguishing SD and SE, and avoiding false conclusions from overlap.

Question

What you can conclude when two error bars overlap (or don't)?

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Evidence boundary

This answers the complete GraphPad FAQ about overlap, with error-bar identification explained before any inference. No particular graph, group means, or sample sizes are supplied. The comparison table describes common mean-based constructions, not every estimator or confidence-interval method.