Source: University of Hawaii
Published: May 2016

Precision Versus Accuracy

Circulated: November 22, 2019

Precision and accuracy are two ways that scientists think about error. (Note: computer scientists use different definitions when referring to precision, recall, and accuracy).

Precision refers to how close measurements of the same item are to each other.

Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the true value.

They are independent. The best observations are accurate and precise.