US Patent 7092844 Determining confidence intervals for weighted trial data

Collected trial data is weighted to, for example, reflect the relevance of the data. A weighted confidence interval determination and application process described herein determines a confidence interval used to interpret the data. The confidence interval is derived by adjusting the sample size N to account for the impact of weighting when determining confidence intervals. The sample size N is adjusted in a downward trend to avoid overestimating the confidence interval. Lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval are determined using weight influenced variables. Thus, interpretation of weighted trial data, such as product demand data, can be achieved and acted upon with an accurate estimation of risk.