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What should you do when asked to compare the distributions?
The simplest way to compare two distributions is via the Z-test. The error in the mean is calculated by dividing the dispersion by the square root of the number of data points. In the above diagram, there is some population mean that is the true intrinsic mean value for that population.
How do you do a distribution fitting?
To fit a symmetrical distribution to data obeying a negatively skewed distribution (i.e. skewed to the left, with mean < mode, and with a right hand tail this is shorter than the left hand tail) one could use the squared values of the data to accomplish the fit.
How to compare a sample with a distribution?
When we compare a sample with a theoretical distribution, we can use a Monte Carlo simulation to create a test statistics distribution. For instance, if we want to test whether a p-value distribution is uniformly distributed (i.e. p-value uniformity test) or not, we can simulate uniform random variables and compute the KS test statistic.
How to compare two p-value distributions in practice?
For instance, if we want to test whether a p-value distribution is uniformly distributed (i.e. p-value uniformity test) or not, we can simulate uniform random variables and compute the KS test statistic. By repeating this process 1000 times, we will have 1000 KS test statistics, which gives us the KS test statistic distribution below.
How to compare two distributions in real life?
The red line is the actual test statistic and the green line is the test statistic for 1000 random normal variables. By inserting the KS test statistic for the actual sample (i.e. the red line), we can see that the actual KS test statistic is contained inside the distribution.
How is the KS test used to compare two distributions?
As a non-parametric test, the KS test can be applied to compare any two distributions regardless of whether you assume normal or uniform. In practice, the KS test is extremely useful because it is efficient and effective at distinguishing a sample from another sample, or a theoretical distribution such as a normal or uniform distribution.