The difference btwn marginal distribution and conditional distribution ?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion clarifies the difference between marginal and conditional distributions using a table of employee transportation methods. Marginal distribution is calculated by finding the individual probabilities of each transportation mode relative to the total number of employees, such as P(Car) = 82/420. Conditional distribution focuses on a specific group, in this case, management, where the transportation modes are divided by the total number of management employees, P(Car|Management) = 26/90. The conversation emphasizes that both distributions provide insights into employee commuting patterns. Understanding these concepts is essential for analyzing categorical data effectively.
Dani16
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The difference btwn marginal distribution and conditional distribution ?

So I have a table that "apparently" shows how a company's employees commute to work.


TRANSPORTATION
JOB CLASS CAR BUS TRAIN TOTAL
MANAGEMENT 26 20 44 90
LABOR 56 106 168 330
TOTAL 82 126 212 420​


As you look at my sorry attempt to re-create the table I was given...
So now I must find the marginal ditrubution (in %) of mode of transportation as well as the conditional distribution (in%) of mode of tranportation for management.

When I read the definition of a conditional distribution in lead me to think that in order to find that I would divide the data under management [26,20,44] by the total [90].

The marginal distribution I am lost on.

Can someone help me ? Please ?
Thank you !
 
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I can help you with the marginal distribution.
You have to find the individual probability of each mode of transportation
for instance : P(Car)=(82/420)
P(BUS)=(126/420)
p(tRAIN)=212/420
SUM OF PROB EQUAL ONE, SO YOU HAVE A MARGINAL DISTRIBUTION.
FOR THE CONDITIONNAL ONE i THINK YOU ARE RIGHT, YOUR CONDITION IS WELL MANAGEMENT.
 


You have two marginal distributions: (1) the distribution of transportation mode (i.e., what percentages of ALL employees---both labor and management---take car, bus or train; and (2) the distribution of employee type (i.e., what percentage of employees are labor and what percentage are management).

RGV
 
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