Statistics Fundamentals (4/9) Probability Distribution

   Welcome to Statistics Fundamentals 4, probability distribution. This course is for beginners who are interested in statistical analysis. And anyone who is not a beginner but wants to go over from the basics is also welcome!

   This course is the fourth chapter of Statistics Fundamentals, a comprehensive program for learning the basics of statistics. This series will have these 9 courses, including this one. This course contains theoretical explanations of probability and Python coding tutorials. They cover Python basics and thus are easy to follow. But this program is not a Python course. So installation and preparation of related environments are not covered in this course. If you are an absolute beginner in statistics, I recommend taking our first course named Introduction.

   Probability distribution represents how data points are distributed in a sample or population. In some cases, the probability distribution is symmetric, but in other cases, it’s asymmetric. Knowing the probability distribution of a variable, we can estimate the probability that the variable takes a certain value. And by knowing the various types of probability distributions, we can estimate the probability of occurring, expected value, and variance for a variety of real-life phenomenon. And the knowledge of probability distribution is necessary to carry out more advanced statistical analyses like hypothesis testing.

   This course contains the following topics. To understand probability distribution, the first thing we need to do is to understand what a random variable is. Next, we will go on to normal distribution, which is the most basic type of distribution. And many of statistical analyses use the normal distribution as their basic assumption. Next, we will go on to various types of probability distributions.

   Specifically, we will cover the following types of probability distributions. This course includes many mathematical proves. They may be overwhelming to some of you. So, if you are not interested in it, you can skip it and go on to the next. Some of you are interested in but not confident in mathematics. Don’t worry. You do not need to memorize it. Just reading it can deepen your understanding. Now, let’s dive into the world of probability distribution.