MATLAB: Random numbers within a specific range

randomrandom number generator

Hi,

I would like to know how is possible to generate random draws from a normal distribution , where the rv has a specific range.

say within a closed interval [-5, 5].

Thanks

Considering that:

p = normpdf([-5, 5], 0, 1)

produces:

p =
       1.4867e-006     1.4867e-006

so the randn function will produce normally-distributed random variables on the interval (-5,+5) with a probability of about 0.999997 or so.

a = -5 ;
b = -1.670000000000000 ; 
r = (b-a).*rand(1000,1) + a;

If you want normally-distributed data, use the randn function. To create outliers, create a separate matrix with a larger standard deviation.