# Need to calculate significance from a data set.

I have a set of data that looks like this:

Person 1 [48 total records]
2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1,
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Person 2 [56 total records]
1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1,
--
Person 3 [18 total records]
1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1,


A '1' indicates a false answer, and a '2' indicates a correct one. I want to be able to compare records to see if any people in the data set are performing significantly above or below average. I've heard of using z-scores and standard deviation, but I'm not sure if that's the correct approach, or even how I would go about doing the calculation.

I also need to find out the minimum number of records I would need in order to have sufficient confidence in the results.

My math skills are pretty limited, so a simple explanation would be greatly appreciated.

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It's easy to find scores that are above and below average, but where to draw the boundary between significant and not significant is a personal opinion. Would you mind clarifying what is significant for your purposes? –  Matt Calhoun Aug 16 '12 at 2:16
I thought significance was a technical term that indicates whether the product indicates a pattern, rather than just chance. Or am I confusing it with confidence levels? –  Jeremy Aug 16 '12 at 5:29