Is a 6.03% Increase in Particle Counts Statistically Insignificant?

[calamari13]

Hi guys,

I have a very easy question to ask - been bugging me for a while but I keep
forgetting to ask it!
So I am doing a particle counting experiment at the moment and changing the
conditions slightly each time to see if there is an increase in the number of counts
(there should be, I'm trying to show that with the level of statistics I have it is
undetectable though). My question is an extremely simple one about errors in the
increase of counts.
Say I count 232 particles (giving me an error of approx. 15) and then alter the conditions
and count 246 particles (giving me an error of approx. 16). Then the percentage increase
in counts is (6.03 ± 9.72)% (adding the errors in quadrature). My question is, is this enough
to say that the increase in counts is statistically insignificant? Or do I need some other sort of argument?

Cheers,
Max

 

[JeffKoch]

You'd have to precisely define statistically insignificant.