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Statistics vocabulary · Probability Distributions

Distribution

Meaning in statistics, with examples

/ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃən/nounCore term

In statistics, distribution means: The pattern showing which values a variable takes and how often each one occurs, often pictured as a histogram or a curve.

In Turkish: dağılım

How it is used

Statisticians constantly describe a distribution's shape (symmetric, skewed, bimodal), centre and spread. The word also names theoretical models such as the normal, binomial or t distribution. You look at, plot, describe or compare distributions.

Example sentences

  1. Before choosing a test, look at the distribution of the scores.

  2. The distribution of response times is strongly right-skewed.

Common collocations

  • the distribution of scores
  • normal distribution
  • skewed distribution
  • frequency distribution
  • probability distribution
  • normal distributionA symmetric, bell-shaped distribution in which most values cluster around the mean and become rarer further away from it; its mean, median and mode are equal.
  • skewedDescribes a distribution that is not symmetric and has a longer tail on one side; in a right-skewed distribution a few very large values stretch the tail to the right.
  • histogramA chart of touching bars showing how many observations of a numeric variable fall into each interval, called a bin.
  • frequencyThe number of times a value or category occurs in a data set; a relative frequency gives the same information as a proportion or percentage.
  • binomial distributionThe probability distribution of the number of successes in a fixed number of independent trials, each with the same probability of success, such as heads in 20 coin tosses.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Probability Distributions

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