The Normal Distribution vs. Student's T ... | t distribution normal distribution
Anintuitivevisualizationofwhyweuset-distributionsInthisarticleIattempttoprovideanintuitivevisualizationofwhyStudent’st-distributionisoftenusedoverthenormaldistribution.Manyintroductorystatisticsanddatasciencecoursesprovidearationalefortheuseoft-distributionsalongthelinesofitbeingusefulinsituationswhereeitherthesamplesizeissmalland/orthepopulation’sstandarddeviationisunknown.Whilecorrect,therationaleremainsabstractedthroughsuchanexplanationandlearnersmayachieveamorepowerfulunderstandingthroug...
An intuitive visualization of why we use t-distributionsIn this article I attempt to provide an intuitive visualization of why Student’s t-distribution is often used over the normal distribution. Many introductory statistics and data science courses provide a rationale for the use of t-distributions along the lines of it being useful in situations where either the sample size is small and/or the population’s standard deviation is unknown. While correct, the rationale remains abstracted through such an explanation and learners may achieve a more powerful understanding through a clear and simple visualization.
The normal distribution, also sometimes referred to as a bell curve, is one of the most frequently used distributions and often...