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moonman239
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Is there a way to calculate/estimate how big a sample from a parent distribution would need to be for the distribution of the mean of that sample to be approximately normally distributed?
The Central Limit Theorem is a statistical concept that states that when a population is randomly sampled, the distribution of sample means will approach a normal distribution regardless of the shape of the original population distribution.
The Central Limit Theorem requires a sufficiently large sample size in order to accurately approximate a normal distribution. This ensures that the sample mean will be a good estimate of the population mean.
The formula for calculating the sample size needed for the Central Limit Theorem is n = (z * σ / E)^2, where n is the sample size, z is the desired confidence level (e.g. 95% confidence has a z-value of 1.96), σ is the standard deviation of the population, and E is the desired margin of error.
The larger the sample size, the higher the confidence level will be in accurately approximating a normal distribution. However, larger sample sizes also require more resources and time to collect and analyze.
Yes, in addition to the desired confidence level and margin of error, other factors such as the variability of the population and the level of precision needed in the results should also be taken into account when calculating the sample size for the Central Limit Theorem.