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Chapter 6 Lecture

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27 views

Chapter 6 Lecture

Uploaded by

Noel De Luna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Normal Curve,

Standardization and z
Scores
CHAPTER 6
Freakanomics!
Go go go!
The Bell Curve is Born (1769)

De Moivre – Bernoulli – De Morgan


A Modern Normal Curve

Remember: unimodal, symmetric


Development of a Normal
Curve: Sample of 5
Development of a Normal
Curve: Sample of 30
Development of a Normal
Curve: Sample of 140
Central Limit Theorem
As the sample size increases, the shape of the distribution
becomes more like the normal curve
Can you think of variables that might be normally
distributed?
◦ Think about it: Can nominal (categorical) variables be normally
distributed?
Standardization, z Scores, and
the Normal Curve
Let’s say we wanted to compare our student scores on the
old GRE (800 point scale) to the new GRE (170 point scale)
Standardization: allows comparisons by creating a common
shared distribution
◦ Also allows us to create percentiles (p-values!)
Standardization, z Scores, and
the Normal Curve
Normal curve = standardized
◦ z distribution (draw it)
◦ z scores
◦ Comparing z scores
◦ Percentiles are p values
◦ Different ways to think about p
Standardization, z Scores, and
the Normal Curve
Z-distribution – normal distribution of standardized scores
Also called standard normal distribution
Standardization, z Scores, and
the Normal Curve
So what are z-scores?
◦ Number of standard deviations away from the mean of a
particular score
◦ Can be positive or negative
◦ Positive = above mean
◦ Negative = below mean
( X  )
z

The z Distribution
Standardization, z Scores, and
the Normal Curve
Z-distribution
◦ Mean = 0
◦ Standard deviation = 1
Examples
Be sure you can do the following:
1. Find a z score
2. Find a raw score (x)
3. Compare scores
4. Find a percent above
5. Find a percent below
6. Find a percent between
7. Given percent find a z score
8. Given percent find a raw score
Transforming Raw Scores to z
Scores
Step 1: Subtract the mean of the population from the raw
score
Step 2: Divide by the standard deviation of the population

( X  )
z

Transforming z Scores into
Raw Scores
Step 1: Multiply the z score by the standard deviation of the
population
Step 2: Add the mean of the population to this product

X  z  
Using z Scores to Make
Comparisons
If you know your score on an exam, and a friend’s score on
an exam, you can convert to z scores to determine who did
better and by how much.
z scores are standardized, so they can be compared!
Comparing Apples and
Oranges
If we can standardize the raw scores on two different scales,
converting both scores to z scores, we can then compare
the scores directly
Transforming z Scores into
Percentiles
z scores tell you where a value fits into a normal
distribution.
Based on the normal distribution, there are rules about
where scores with a z value will fall, and how it will relate to
a percentile rank
You can use the area under the normal curve to calculate
percentiles for any score
The Normal Curve and
Percentages
Sketching the Normal Curve
The benefits of sketching the normal curve:
◦ Stays clear in memory; minimizes errors
◦ Practical reference
◦ Condenses the information
◦ Allows you to make sure the JASP information you are getting
seems right
Getting a p value from a z
score
To get a p value from a z
score:
◦ Find your z score on the
table  % in tail
◦ p value = % in tail / 100
◦ e.g., the p value for a z score
of 1.28 would be .100
Getting a z score from a p
value
To get a z score from a p
value:
◦ Calculate the % in tail from
your p value
◦ % in tail = p value * 100
◦ Find your % in tail on the
table  z score
◦ e.g., the z score for a p value
of .03 would be 1.88
Calculating the Percentage
Above a Positive z Score
Calculating the Percentile for
a Positive z Score
Calculating the Percentage
Above a Negative z Score
Calculating the Percentile for
a Negative z Score
Calculating the Percentage at Least
as Extreme as Our z Score
Calculating a Score from a
Percentile
Creating a Distribution of
Scores
These distributions were obtained by drawing from the
same population
Creating a Distribution of
Means
The Mathematical Magic of
Large Samples
Distribution Bunnies!
https://youtu.be/jvoxEYmQHNM
The Central Limit Theorem
Distribution of sample means is normally distributed even
when the population from which it was drawn is not
normal!
A distribution of means is less variable than a distribution of
individual scores
◦ meaning SD is smaller… but we don’t call it SD
Distribution of Means
Mean of the distribution tends to be the mean of the
population
Standard deviation of the distribution tends to be less than
the standard deviation of the population
◦ The standard error: standard deviation of the distribution of
means


M 
N
Using the Appropriate
Measure of Spread
Z statistic for Distribution of
Means
When you use a distribution of means, you tweak how you
calculate z!
Calculation of percentages stays the same

z = M – μM
σM
The Normal Curve and
Catching Cheaters
This pattern is an indication that researchers might be
manipulating their analyses to push their z statistics beyond
the cutoffs

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