The HR department of an organization collects data on employees¿ age, salary, level of education, gender, and ethnicity. Which data do you think is more likely to follow normal distribution? Explain why.
Gender and ethnicity rare only nominal scales, so they are eliminated.
http://drdavespsychologypage.intuitwebsites.com/Two___Two_____four.pdf
Others might depend on the type of organization you are discussing.
Salaries are likely to be positively skewed (pulled out to the right, e.g., higher salaries given to a few positions in management). The same with education.
Age seems to be a possibility, but a minimum age limit is also likely to lead to a positive skew.
To determine which data is more likely to follow a normal distribution, we need to consider the characteristics of normal distribution, also known as the bell curve. A normal distribution is symmetric and bell-shaped, where the majority of the data points are clustered around the mean, and there are a few data points towards the tails.
In this case, let's consider each of the given variables: age, salary, level of education, gender, and ethnicity.
1. Age: Age data is often considered to follow a normal distribution. In a large population, the distribution of ages tends to be fairly symmetrical, with most people falling around a particular age range.
2. Salary: Salary data usually does not tend to follow a normal distribution. It often shows a right-skewed pattern, where most individuals earn lower salaries, and few individuals have higher salaries. This is because there is often an income ceiling, and individuals' salaries increase gradually over time.
3. Level of education: Level of education data might not follow a normal distribution. It is subjective and can have multiple categories or types, such as high school, bachelor's degree, master's degree, etc. This categorical nature makes it less likely to follow a normal distribution.
4. Gender: Gender data does not follow a normal distribution as it is categorical and binary (male or female). It does not have a continuous range of values that can be measured and distributed.
5. Ethnicity: Similar to gender, ethnicity is a categorical variable, meaning it does not follow a normal distribution. It consists of discrete categories representing different ethnic backgrounds, and these categories are not evenly distributed.
Therefore, out of the given variables, age is more likely to follow a normal distribution, as it possesses the characteristics of a continuous variable and typically demonstrates symmetry and clustering around a mean in a large population. Salary, level of education, gender, and ethnicity, on the other hand, do not typically exhibit these characteristics and are less likely to follow a normal distribution.