Question

When trying to determine probabilities one must first assess whether the variable would have a normal distribution. What are some methods that could be used to determine whether a variable has a normal distribution

Answer 1

Some methods that could be used to determine whether a variable has a normal distribution include calculating the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (k-s) test, or producing a quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plot. Either of these involves comparing the data that one has to a theoretical normal distribution, mathematically.