Understanding what sampling distributions are and what affects them is very important for you to be...

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Understanding what sampling distributions are and what affects them is very important for you to be able to grasp conceptually the majority of the rest of the course. Unit 8 discusses the concept of a sampling distribution. This discussion will help us examine them further with opportunity for some questions and answers, if you have them. Go again to Online Stat Book to see the Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics (RVLS). The RVLS has several demonstrations, case studies, and a "built-in" textbook that you may find useful. Click on Simulations/Demonstrations on the home page and then click on Sampling Distribution Simulation on the next page and read the instructions. Then click on Begin to go to the simulation page. On the simulation page you should see four frames with number lines. The top frame represents a population distribution with the M, Median, and SD as given. The next three frames can be used to graph data that is randomly sampled from this population. Do the following: 1. Change the bottom frame (the fourth one) to give the Mean with N of 25 and click on Fit normal. This will randomly draw 25 cases from the top population and then plot the mean on the graph to the left. This is "building" a sampling distribution. 2. Change the second to bottom frame (the third one) to give the Mean with N of 2 and click on Fit normal. The Fit normal draws a normal curve for comparison purposes. 3. Now, click once on Animated Sample in the second frame. You will see the computer randomly draw two cases from the population and plot the Mean in the third frame and then randomly draw 25 cases and plot the Mean in the fourth frame. Note: This will happen pretty quickly. Just be aware that the plotted blue points on the two bottom frames represent Means, not scores. 4. Click on Animated Sample 29 more times to give a total of 30. You can see the number of repetitions you have done on the left. Do this slowly so you can see what is happening to the sampling distribution when N=2 versus N=25. Feel free to further explore the simulation by manipulating the number of samples taken and the sample sizes. Expectations: **Respond to the discussion board with what you have learned or any questions/comments you have. There are no specific questions for you to answer with this discussion. To receive full credit you must post an Understanding what sampling distributions are and what affects them is very important for you to be able to grasp conceptually the majority of the rest of the course. Unit 8 discusses the concept of a sampling distribution. This discussion will help us examine them further with opportunity for some questions and answers, if you have them. Go again to Online Stat Book to see the Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics (RVLS). The RVLS has several demonstrations, case studies, and a "built-in" textbook that you may find useful. Click on Simulations/Demonstrations on the home page and then click on Sampling Distribution Simulation on the next page and read the instructions. Then click on Begin to go to the simulation page. On the simulation page you should see four frames with number lines. The top frame represents a population distribution with the M, Median, and SD as given. The next three frames can be used to graph data that is randomly sampled from this population. Do the following: 1. Change the bottom frame (the fourth one) to give the Mean with N of 25 and click on Fit normal. This will randomly draw 25 cases from the top population and then plot the mean on the graph to the left. This is "building" a sampling distribution. 2. Change the second to bottom frame (the third one) to give the Mean with N of 2 and click on Fit normal. The Fit normal draws a normal curve for comparison purposes. 3. Now, click once on Animated Sample in the second frame. You will see the computer randomly draw two cases from the population and plot the Mean in the third frame and then randomly draw 25 cases and plot the Mean in the fourth frame. Note: This will happen pretty quickly. Just be aware that the plotted blue points on the two bottom frames represent Means, not scores. 4. Click on Animated Sample 29 more times to give a total of 30. You can see the number of repetitions you have done on the left. Do this slowly so you can see what is happening to the sampling distribution when N=2 versus N=25. Feel free to further explore the simulation by manipulating the number of samples taken and the sample sizes. Expectations: **Respond to the discussion board with what you have learned or any questions/comments you have. There are no specific questions for you to answer with this discussion. To receive full credit you must post an