Using the Spreadsheet to Understand Random Sampling Procedures in Relation to the Central Limit Theorem

Abstract

In many statistics courses in colleges and universities, random sampling has not been presented to students through a hands-on and practical approach. This research described a real-life method to random sampling was used as an exercise in the statistics class. The method allowed students to recursively select 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 samples and list these samples in a matrix-spreadsheet. Students used the spreadsheet software-EXCEL, calculated the statistics and performed graphical computations. Students were engaged to reflect and develop a sense of meaning of randomness in its relation to the law of large numbers. Specifically, the method explored an increase in the number of samples, how it changed the means, mean of means or standard deviations- This is an instructional study which devices a working approach to random sampling.