basic ideas in probability and statistics for experimenters: part i: qualitative discussion
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Basic Ideas in Probability and Statistics for Experimenters: Part I: Qualitative Discussion. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [email protected] http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma Based in part upon slides of Prof. Raj Jain (OSU). - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Basic Ideas in Probability and Statistics for Experimenters: Part I: Qualitative Discussion
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
[email protected] http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma
Based in part upon slides of Prof. Raj Jain (OSU)
He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts – for support rather than for illumination … A. Lang
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Why Probability and Statistics: The Empirical Design Method…
Qualitative understanding of essential probability and statistics
Especially the notion of inference and statistical significance
Key distributions & why we care about them… Reference: Chap 12, 13 (Jain), Chap 2-3
(Box,Hunter,Hunter), and http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/ProbabilityandStatistics.html
Overview
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Theory (Model) vs Experiment A model is only as good as the NEW predictions it can
make (subject to “statistical confidence”) Physics:
Theory and experiment frequently changed roles as leaders and followers
Eg: Newton’s Gravitation theory, Quantum Mechanics, Einstein’s Relativity.
Einstein’s “thought experiments” vs real-world experiments that validate theory’s predictions
Medicine: FDA Clinical trials on New drugs: Do they work? “Cure worse than the disease” ?
Networking: How does OSPF or TCP or BGP behave/perform ? Operator or Designer: What will happen if I change …. ?
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Why Probability? BIG PICTURE Humans like determinism The real-world is unfortunately random! => CANNOT place ANY confidence on a single measurement or simulation result
that contains potential randomness However,
We can make deterministic statements about measures or functions of underlying randomness …
… with bounds on degree of confidence Functions of Randomness:
Probability of a random event or variable Average (mean, median, mode), Distribution functions (pdf, cdf), joint pdfs/cdfs,
conditional probability, confidence intervals, Goal: Build “probabilistic” models of reality
Constraint: minimum # experiments Infer to get a model (I.e. maximum information)
Statistics: how to infer models about reality (“population”) given a SMALL set of expt results (“sample”)
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Why Care About Statistics?
How to makethis empiricaldesign processEFFICIENT??
How to avoidpitfalls in inference!
Measure, simulate, experimentModel,
Hypothesis,Predictions
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Probability Think of probability as modeling an experiment
Eg: tossing a coin! The set of all possible outcomes is the sample
space: S
Classic “Experiment”: Tossing a die: S = {1,2,3,4,5,6} Any subset A of S is an event: A = {the
outcome is even} = {2,4,6}
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Probability of Events: Axioms•P is the Probability Mass function if it maps each
event A, into a real number P(A), and:i.)
ii.) P(S) = 1
iii.)If A and B are mutually exclusive events then,
( ) 0 for every event P A A S
( ) ( ) ( )P A B P A P B
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Probability of Events
…In fact for any sequence of pair-wise-mutually-exclusive events, we have
1 2 3, , ,... (i.e. 0 for any )i jA A A A A i j
1 1( )n n
n nP A P A
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Other Properties Can be Derived
( ) 1 ( )P A P A
( ) 1P A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )P A B P A P B P AB
( ) ( )A B P A P B Derived by breaking up above sets into mutually exclusive pieces and comparing to fundamental axioms!!
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Recall: Why care about Probability?
…. We can be deterministic about measures or functions of underlying randomness .. Functions of Randomness:
Probability of a random event or variable
Even though the experiment has a RANDOM OUTCOME (eg: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or heads/tails) or EVENTS (subsets of all outcomes) The probability function has a DETERMINISTIC value
If you forget everything in this class, do not forget this!
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Conditional Probability
( | )P A B• = (conditional) probability that the outcome is in A given that we know the outcome in B
•Example: Toss one die.
•Note that:
( )( | ) ( ) 0
( )
P ABP A B P B
P B
( 3 | i is odd)=P i
( ) ( ) ( | ) ( ) ( | )P AB P B P A B P A P B A
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Independence Events A and B are independent if P(AB) = P(A)P(B). Also: and Example: A card is selected at random from an
ordinary deck of cards. A=event that the card is an ace. B=event that the card is a diamond.
( )P AB
( )P A
( ) ( )P A P B
( )P B
( | ) ( )P A B P A ( | ) ( )P B A P B
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Random Variable as a Measurement
We cannot give an exact description of a sample space in these cases, but we can still describe specific measurements on themThe temperature change produced.The number of photons emitted in one
millisecond.The time of arrival of the packet.
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Random Variable as a Measurement
Thus a random variable can be thought of as a measurement on an experiment
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Probability Distribution Function (pdf)
a.k.a. frequency histogram, p.m.f (for discrete r.v.)
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Probability Mass Function for a Random Variable
The probability mass function (PMF) for a (discrete valued) random variable X is:
Note that for
Also for a (discrete valued) random variable X
( ) ( ) ({ | ( ) })XP x P X x P s S X s x
x ( ) 0XP x
( ) 1Xx
P x
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PMF and CDF: Example
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Cumulative Distribution Function The cumulative distribution function (CDF) for a
random variable X is
Note that is non-decreasing in x, i.e.
Also and
( ) ( ) ({ | ( ) })XF x P X x P s S X s x ( )XF x
1 2 1 2( ) ( )x xx x F x F x
lim ( ) 1xx
F x
lim ( ) 0xx
F x
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Recall: Why care about Probability? Humans like determinism
The real-world is unfortunately random! CANNOT place ANY confidence on a single measurement
We can be deterministic about measures or functions of underlying randomness …
Functions of Randomness: Probability of a random event or variable Average (mean, median, mode), Distribution functions (pdf, cdf),
joint pdfs/cdfs, conditional probability, confidence intervals,
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Expectation (Mean) = Center of Gravity
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Expectation of a Random Variable The expectation (average) of a (discrete-valued) random variable X
is
Three coins example:
( ) ( ) ( )Xx
X E X xP X x xP x
3
0
1 3 3 1( ) ( ) 0 1 2 3 1.5
8 8 8 8Xx
E X xP x
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Median, Mode Median = F-1 (0.5), where F = CDF
Aka 50% percentile element I.e. Order the values and pick the middle element Used when distribution is skewed Considered a “robust” measure
Mode: Most frequent or highest probability value Multiple modes are possible Need not be the “central” element Mode may not exist (eg: uniform distribution) Used with categorical variables
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Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Measures of Spread/Dispersion: Why Care?
You can drown in a river of average depth 6 inches!
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Variance: second moment around the mean: 2 = E((X-)2)
Standard deviation =
Coefficient of Variation (C.o.V.)= / SIQR= Semi-Inter-Quartile Range (used with
median = 50th percentile) (75th percentile – 25th percentile)/2
Standard Deviation, Coeff. Of Variation, SIQR
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Covariance and Correlation: Measures of Dependence
Covariance: =
For i = j, covariance = variance! Independence => covariance = 0 (not vice-versa!)
Correlation (coefficient) is a normalized (or scaleless) form of covariance:
Between –1 and +1. Zero => no correlation (uncorrelated). Note: uncorrelated DOES NOT mean independent!
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Recall: Why care about Probability? Humans like determinism
The real-world is unfortunately random! CANNOT place ANY confidence on a single measurement
We can be deterministic about measures or functions of underlying randomness …
Functions of Randomness: Probability of a random event or variable Average (mean, median, mode), Distribution functions (pdf, cdf),
joint pdfs/cdfs, conditional probability, confidence intervals,
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Continuous-valued Random Variables
So far we have focused on discrete(-valued) random variables, e.g. X(s) must be an integer
Examples of discrete random variables: number of arrivals in one second, number of attempts until success
A continuous-valued random variable takes on a range of real values, e.g. X(s) ranges from 0 to as s varies.
Examples of continuous(-valued) random variables: time when a particular arrival occurs, time between consecutive arrivals.
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Continuous-valued Random Variables
Thus, for a continuous random variable X, we can define its probability density function (pdf)
Note that since is non-decreasing in x we have
for all x.
' ( )( ) ( ) X
Xx
dF xf x F x
dx
( )XF x
( ) 0Xf x
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Properties of Continuous Random Variables
From the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, we have
In particular,
More generally,
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )b
X X Xaf x dx F b F a P a X b
( ) ( )x
X xF x f x dx
( ) ( ) 1Xfx x dx F
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Expectation of a Continuous Random Variable
The expectation (average) of a continuous random variable X is given by
Note that this is just the continuous equivalent of the discrete expectation
( ) ( )XE X xf x dx
( ) ( )Xx
E X xP x
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Important (Discrete) Random Variable: Bernoulli
The simplest possible measurement on an experiment: Success (X = 1) or failure (X = 0).
Usual notation:
E(X)=
(1) ( 1) (0) ( 0) 1X XP P X p P P X p
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Important (discrete) Random Variables: Binomial
Let X = the number of success in n independent Bernoulli
experiments ( or trials). P(X=0) =
P(X=1) =
P(X=2)=
• In general, P(X = x) =
Binomial Variables are useful for proportions (of successes. Failures) for a small number of repeated experiments. For larger number (n), under certain conditions (p is small), Poisson distribution is used.
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Binomial can be skewed or normal
Depends uponp and n !
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Important Random Variable:Poisson
A Poisson random variable X is defined by its PMF:
Where > 0 is a constant Exercise: Show that
and E(X) =
Poisson random variables are good for counting frequency of occurrence: like the number of customers that arrive to a bank in one hour, or the number of packets that arrive to a router in one second.
0( ) 1 X
xP x
( ) 0,1,2,...!
x
P X x e xx
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Important Continuous Random Variable: Exponential
Used to represent time, e.g. until the next arrival Has PDF
for some > 0 Properties:
Need to use integration by Parts!0
1( ) 1 and ( )Xf x dx E X
for x 00 for x < 0( ) {
xeXf x
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Memoryless Property of the Exponential
An exponential random variable X has the property that “the future is independent of the past”, i.e. the fact that it hasn’t happened yet, tells us nothing about how much longer it will take.
In math terms se
( | ) ( ) for , 0P X s t X t P X s s t
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Recall: Why care about Probability? Humans like determinism
The real-world is unfortunately random! CANNOT place ANY confidence on a single measurement
We can be deterministic about measures or functions of underlying randomness …
Functions of Randomness: Probability of a random event or variable Average (mean, median, mode), Distribution functions (pdf, cdf),
joint pdfs/cdfs, conditional probability, confidence intervals,
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Gaussian/Normal Distribution: Why?
Uniform distributionlooks nothing like bell shaped (gaussian)!Large spread ()!
Sample mean of uniform distribution (a.k.a sampling distribution), after very few samples looks remarkably gaussian, with decreasing !
CENTRAL LIMIT TENDENCY!
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Other interesting facts about Gaussian
Uncorrelated r.vs. + gaussian => INDEPENDENT! Important in random processes (I.e. sequences
of random variables)
Random variables that are independent, and have exactly the same distribution are called IID (independent & identically distributed)
IID and normal with zero mean and variance 2 => IIDN(0, 2 )
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Important Random Variables: Normal
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Normal Distribution: PDF & CDF
PDF:
With the transformation:
(a.k.a. unit normal deviate) z-normal-PDF:
z
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Height & Spread of Gaussian Can Vary!
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Rapidly Dropping Tail Probability!
Sample mean is a gaussian r.v., with x = & s = /(n)0.5
With larger number of samples, avg of sample means is an excellent estimate of true mean.If (original) is known, invalid mean estimates can be rejected with HIGH confidence!
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Recall: Why care about Probability? Humans like determinism
The real-world is unfortunately random! CANNOT place ANY confidence on a single measurement
We can be deterministic about measures or functions of underlying randomness …
Functions of Randomness: Probability of a random event or variable Average (mean, median, mode), Distribution functions (pdf, cdf), joint pdfs/cdfs,
conditional probability, confidence intervals,
Goal: Build “probabilistic” models of reality Constraint: minimum # experiments
Infer to get a model (I.e. maximum information) Statistics: how to infer models about reality (“population”) given a SMALL set of
expt results (“sample”)
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Confidence Interval
Probability that a measurement will fall within a closed interval [a,b]: (mathworld definition…)
= (1-)
Jain: the interval [a,b] = “confidence interval”; the probability level, 100(1-)= “confidence level”; = “significance level”
Sampling distribution for means leads to high confidence levels, I.e. small confidence intervals
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Meaning of Confidence Interval
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Statistical Inference: Is A = B ?
• Note: sample mean yA is not A, but its estimate!• Is this difference statistically significant?• Is the null hypothesis yA = yB false ?
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Step 1: Plot the samples
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Compare to (external) reference distribution (if available)
Since 1.30 is at the tail of the reference distribution, the difference between means is NOT statistically significant!
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Random Sampling Assumption!
Under random sampling assumption, and the null hypothesis of yA = yB, we can view the 20 samples from a common population & construct a reference distributions from the samples itself !
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t-distribution: Create a Reference Distribution from the Samples Itself!
Shivkumar KalyanaramanRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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t-distribution
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Statistical Significance with Various Inference Techniques
Normal population assumption not required
Random samplingassumption required
Std.dev. estimated from samples itself!
t-distributionan approx.for gaussian!
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Normal, 2 & t-distributions: Useful for Statistical Inference
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Relationship between Confidence Intervals and Comparisons of Means
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Amen!