tröskelprecision

Tröskelprecision is a term used in measurement and data analysis to describe the precision with which a threshold can be estimated or detected in a system. In contexts from psychophysics to signal processing, a threshold marks a critical boundary where a stimulus is reliably detected or a decision changes category. Tröskelprecision thus characterizes the reliability and stability of that boundary across observations, experiments, or conditions.

Quantification typically expresses tröskelprecision as an inverse measure of threshold uncertainty. Common approaches include the width of the confidence interval around an estimated threshold, or the standard error of the estimated threshold when fitting a psychometric or decision model. A smaller confidence interval or standard error corresponds to higher tröskelprecision, indicating a more precisely determined boundary. Some studies report tröskelprecision relative to the slope of the underlying function, since steep transitions yield more precise thresholds for a given amount of data.

Applications include comparing experimental conditions, optimizing stimulus levels, and designing adaptive procedures that converge more quickly on the threshold. In engineering, tröskelprecision informs detector design and control systems that rely on a decision boundary, and in data science it guides sample size planning and model calibration.

Etymology and usage: The compound is of Swedish origin, with tröskel meaning threshold and precision meaning precision. While most common in Swedish-language science, the term is sometimes encountered in multilingual discussions of measurement uncertainty and threshold estimation. See also threshold, psychometric function, decision boundary, estimator variance.