(1) It is a common misperception that the distribution of values for biological
ID: 2958550 • Letter: #
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(1) It is a common misperception that the distribution of values for biological data has a Normal distribution; related is the (also common) misperception that one needs to have data with a Normal distribution in order to properly use standard statistical methods. Interestingly, neither is true. Despite that, we do, correctly, use methods that depend on a Normal distribution. The key here is a Normal distribution for the statistic (e.g. a sample mean or sample proportion). Read the samdist (short-hand for “sampling distribution”) notes in the Core Concepts chapter of the text. Pose a question or two (that will suffice; across the class, I’m sure we’ll get a broad range of questions) that reflects points therein that are not clear to you. Write your question(s) here:Explanation / Answer
It's asking you for two questions that you are NOT clear on. Read the notes in the Core Concepts chapter...but my two questions would be: 1) Why does biological data not have a normal distribution, and what kind of distribution does it have? 2) Why was it a common misperception in the first place that you needed a normal distribution to use statistical methods?
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