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Statistics for Decision- Making in Business - Maricopa Community ...

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, ̅-<br />

√<br />

For example,<br />

√<br />

That is very close to the 0.52 we obta<strong>in</strong>ed!<br />

Similarly, <strong>for</strong> our sample of size 20,<br />

√<br />

This one happens to be fairly spot-on!<br />

An f<strong>in</strong>ally, <strong>for</strong> our sample of size 30,<br />

This is aga<strong>in</strong> very close to our obta<strong>in</strong>ed 0.32!<br />

√<br />

The reason <strong>for</strong> this difference is simply due to randomness, and estimates can be improved more<br />

(if desired) by <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g the number of “<strong>in</strong>dividuals roll<strong>in</strong>g the die.”<br />

What we have observed here is <strong>for</strong>mally known as the Central Limit Theorem.<br />

Central Limit Theorem<br />

Regardless of the distribution of a random variable, , if we take repeated random samples from<br />

this distribution of and compute the mean, ̅, <strong>for</strong> each sample, then the follow<strong>in</strong>g will<br />

hold:<br />

1.) The distribution of ̅ will be approximately normal<br />

2.) , ̅-<br />

3.) , ̅-<br />

√<br />

(NOTE: A sample size of at least 30 is a rule-of-thumb and can vary slightly depend<strong>in</strong>g on the<br />

severity of skews and abnormalities <strong>in</strong> the distribution. For even severely skewed distributions,<br />

the approximate shape is typically normal.)<br />

6.1.3 Why the Central Limit Theorem<br />

<strong>Statistics</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Decision</strong>-<strong>Mak<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>ess © Milos Podmanik Page 188

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