Accuracy Basics
There are two techniques for measuring error: the absolute error and the relative error. Given an approximation of an actual value, we define the absolute value of the difference between the two values to be the absolute error, and the relative error to be the ratio between the absolute error and the actual value. The equations are as follows:
- Absolute error = |Approximation – Actual value|
- Relative error = |Approximation – Actual value|/Approximation
Relative error is typically used to measure the operator accuracy, which is usually expressed as a percentage.