technique for assessing whether or not a data set follows a given distribution. The data are plotted against a theoretical distribution in such a way that the points should form approximately a straight line. Departures from this straight line indicate departures from the specified distribution. Probability plotting - is a graphical method for determining whether sample data conform to a hypothesized distribution based on a subjective visual examination of the data.
Probability paper – is a special graphing
paper typically use by making probability plots, that has been designed for the hypothesized distribution. To construct a probability plot, the observations in the sample are first ranked from smallest to largest. That is, the sample x1, x2, . . . , xn is arranged as x(1), x(2), . . . , x(n).
Where: x(1) is the smallest observation x(2) is the second smallest observation : x(n) is the largest observation
The ordered observations x( j) are then plotted against their
observed cumulative frequency ( j − 0.5)/n [or 100 ( j − 0.5)/n] on the appropriate probability paper.
If the hypothesized distribution adequately describes the data, the
plotted points will fall approximately along a straight line; if the plotted points deviate significantly and systematically from a straight line, the hypothesized model is not appropriate. Usually, the determination of whether or not the data plot as a straight line is subjective. When you have a set of data that you think might have a normal distribution (i.e. a bell curve), a graph of your data can help you decide whether or not your data is normal. Making a histogram of your data can help you decide whether or not a set of data is normal, but there is a more specialized type of plot you can create, called a normal probability plot. NORMAL PROBABILITY PLOT -It graph z scores(normal scores) against your data set. With normal probability plot, it can be easier to see individual data items that don’t quite fit a normal distribution. Example:
Observations on the road
octane number of ten gasoline blends are as follows: j x(j) (j - 0.5)/10 88.9, 87.0, 90.0, 88.2, 87.2, 87.4, 87.8, 89.7, 86.0, and 1 86.0 0.05 89.6. We hypothesize that octane number is adequately 2 87.0 0.15 modeled by a normal 3 87.2 0.25 distribution. Is this a reasonable assumption? 4 87.4 0.35 SOLUTION: 5 87.8 0.45 To use probability plotting to 6 88.2 0.55 investigate this hypothesis, first arrange the observations 7 88.9 0.65 in ascending order and calculate their cumulative 8 89.6 0.75 frequencies ( j − 0.5)/10 as shown in the table. 9 89.7 0.85 10 90.0 0.9 The pairs of values x(j) and ( j − 0.5)/10 are now plotted on normal probability paper. Most normal probability paper plots 100( j − 0.5)/n on the left vertical scale (and some also plot 100[1 − ( j − 0.5)/n] on the right vertical scale), with the variable value plotted on the horizontal scale. A straight line, chosen subjectively as a “best fit” line, has been drawn through the plotted points. OTHER PROBABILITY PLOTS Probability plots are extremely useful and are often the first technique used when we need to determine which probability distribution is likely to provide a reasonable model for data. In using probability plots, usually the distribution is chosen by subjective assessment of the probability plot. More formal statistical goodness- of-fit tests can also be used in conjunction with probability plotting. Some useful approximation In certain quality control problems, it is sometimes useful to approximate one probability distribution with another. This is particularly helpful in situations where the original distribution is difficult to manipulate analytically. BINOMIAL APPROXIMATION TO THE HYPERGEOMETRIC If the ratio n/N (often called the sampling fraction) is small—say, n/N ≤ 0.1—then the binomial distribution with parameters p = D/N and n is a good approximation to the hypergeometric. The approximation is better for small values of n/N. This approximation is useful in the design of acceptance- sampling plans. Recall that the hypergeometric distribution is the appropriate model for the number of nonconforming items obtained in a random sample of n items from a lot of finite size N. Thus, if the sample size n is small relative to the lot size N, the binomial approximation may be employed, which usually simplifies the calculations considerably. EXAMPLE: POISSON APPROXIMATION TO THE BINOMIAL Normal approximation to the Binomial THANK YOU!!!
(Applied Logic Series 15) Didier Dubois, Henri Prade, Erich Peter Klement (Auth.), Didier Dubois, Henri Prade, Erich Peter Klement (Eds.) - Fuzzy Sets, Logics and Reasoning About Knowledge-Springer Ne
Gianna Pomata (Editor), Nancy G. Siraisi (Editor) - Historia - Empiricism and Erudition in Early Modern Europe (Transformations - Studies in The History of Science and Technology) (2006)