Abstract #301293

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JSM 2002 Abstract #301293
Activity Number: 401
Type: Contributed
Date/Time: Thursday, August 15, 2002 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
Sponsor: Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences*
Abstract - #301293
Title: Simplifying Statistical Tables for Students in Elementary Courses
Author(s): Dana Quade*+
Affiliation(s): University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Address: CB # 7420, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA
Keywords: statistical tables ; elementary courses ; approximations ; normal distribution
Abstract:

In any practical statistics or probability course, students must learn to use tables of standard statistical distributions. The tables provided in elementary textbooks vary considerably in format, both between books and also between distributions within books. This paper presents a table whose format greatly reduces the confusion students often have in obtaining normal probabilities and percentiles, and shows how to combine it with the use of an inexpensive calculator so as to produce simple but accurate approximations to probabilities and percentiles of Student's t and chi-squared distributions. Such techniques are useful in situations where it is not feasible for students to use expensive calculators or computer packages.

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Revised March 2002