Chi-square distribution

Definition

The chi-square distribution is a probability distribution that describes how likely different values of chi-square statistics occur when sampling from populations with specific characteristics.

Analogy

Think of a vending machine filled with different types of snacks. Each snack represents a value on the chi-square distribution curve. Just like some snacks are more common than others in the vending machine, certain values on the chi-square distribution curve are more likely to occur than others.

Related terms

Chi-square Test: A statistical test used to determine if there is an association between two categorical variables.

Observed Frequencies: Actual counts obtained from collected data for each category in a contingency table.

Expected Frequencies: The frequencies that would be expected under independence assumption for each category in a contingency table based on sample proportions.