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Uniform Distribution in Statistics

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International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science

Uniform distribution, the simplest probability distribution, plays an important role in Statistics since it is indispensable in modeling random variables, and therefore in traditional and Quasi-Monte Carlo simulation. It is often used to represent the distribution of roundoff errors in values tabulated to the nearest k decimal places (Johnson et al. 1995). We can distinguish between the continuous and discrete uniform distribution.

Properties of the Uniform Distribution

The continuous random variable X is said to be uniformly distributed, or having rectangular distribution on the interval [a, b], and we write X : U(a, b), if its probability density function (p.d.f) equals \(f(x) = \frac{1} {b-a},\ x \in \left [a,b\right ],\) and 0 elsewhere. It follows that the distribution function is \(F(x) = \frac{x-a} {b-a} ,\ x \in \left [a,b\right ].\) The moments are \({m}_{r} = \frac{1} {r+1} \frac{{b}^{r+1}-{a}^{r+1}} {b-a} ,\ r \in N,\) while the central moments are \({\mu }_{2k-1} = 0,\ {\mu...

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References and Further Reading

  • Sobol I (1973) islenn e metod Monte Karlo, Nauka, Moskva (in Russian)

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  • Dexter CW, Hogg RV (2001) A little uniform density with big instructional potential. J Stat Educ 9(2)

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  • Djorić D, Jevremović V et al (2007) Atlas raspodela. Gradjevinski fakultet, Beograd (in Serbian)

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  • Hogg RV, McKean JW, Craig AT (2005) Introduction to mathematical statistics. Pearson Education International, Upper Saddle River

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  • Johnson NL, Kotz S, Balakrishnan N (1995) Continuous univariate distributions, vol 2, 2nd edn. Wiley-Interscience, New York

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Romano JP, Siegel AF (1986) Counterexamples in probability and statistics. Chapman & Hall/CRC Press, New York

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jevremović, V. (2011). Uniform Distribution in Statistics. In: Lovric, M. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_642

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