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There are two main methods: theoretical and empirical.

Theoretical: Is the random variable the sum (or mean) of a large number of imdependent, identically distributed variables? If so, by the Central Limit Theorem the variable in question is approximately normally distributed.

Empirical: there are various goodness-of-fit tests. Two of the better known are the chi-square and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. There are others. These compare the observed values with what might be expected if the distribution were Normal. The greater the discrepancy, the less likely it is that the distribution is Normal, the smaller the discrepancy the more likely that the distribution is Normal.

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10y ago

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