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Means
Samples vary!
Quite likely that a particular sample won’t reflect the population exactly
The term “sampling error” does not mean a sampling mistake – rather it
indicates that means drawn from multiple samples taken from a
population will vary from each other due to random chance and
therefore may deviate from the population mean
1. Mean
2. Standard Deviation
3. Shape
1. The Mean
The mean of the distribution of sample means is the mean of the population
σ
σ X=
n
Variability of X around µ
Note: when n = 1 σ X = σ
Very important!
True even when raw scores NOT normal!
What about sample size?
(2) If raw scores are not normal but are symmetrically distributed, a small
n will usually suffice
(3) If the raw scores are severely skewed, n must be “sufficiently large”
If we assume DSM is normal (again, we can do this if raw scores are normally
distributed or n is at least 30)
AND
If we know µ & σ
σ
where: σ X =
n
15 15
σ X= = =3
25 5
105 −100
z= =1.67
3
The probability of the sample having a mean of 105 or greater is: 0.0475
Example: Repeat the same problem in the previous example, but assume your
sample size is 64
15 15
σ X= = =1.875
64 8
105 −100
z= = 2.67
1.875
The probability of the sample having a mean of 105 or greater is: 0.0038
σ
Step 1: Find σ X =
n
15 15
σ X= = = 2.5
36 6