MEASURES OF SPREAD

RANGE
The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set and is the
simplest measure of spread.

Range = maximum value - minimum value

EXAMPLE: Identifying the Range

Find the range of the following incubation periods for hepatitis A: 27, 31, 15, 30, and 22 days.

Step 1. Identify the minimum and maximum values.

Minimum = 15, maximum = 31

Step 2. Subtract the minimum from the maximum value.

Range = 31–15 = 16 days

For an epidemiologic or lay audience, you could report that “incubation periods ranged from 15 to 31
days.” Statistically, that range is 16 days.

INTERQUARTILE RANGE

The interquartile range is a measure of spread used most commonly with the median. It
represents the central portion of the distribution, from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile.
In other words, the interquartile range includes the second and third quartiles of a distribution.
The interquartile range thus includes approximately one half of the observations in the set,
leaving one quarter of the observations on each side.

Method for determining the interquartile range

Step 1. Arrange the observations in increasing order.

Step 2. Find the position of the 1st and 3rd quartiles with the following formulas. Divide the sum by the
number of observations.

Position of 1st quartile (Q1) = 25th percentile = (n + 1) ⁄ 4

Position of 3rd quartile (Q3) = 75th percentile = 3(n + 1) ⁄ 4 = 3 × Q1

Step 3. Identify the value of the 1st and 3rd quartiles.

If a quartile lies on an observation (i.e., if its position is a whole number), the value of the quartile is the
value of that observation. For example, if the position of a quartile is 20, its value is the value of the
20th observation.

If a quartile lies between observations, the value of the quartile is the value of the lower observation
plus the specified fraction of the difference between the observations. For example, if the position of a
quartile is 20¼, it lies between the 20th and 21st observations, and its value is the value of the
20th observation, plus ¼ the difference between the value of the 20 th and 21st observations.

Step 4. Epidemiologically, report the values at Q1 and Q3. Statistically, calculate the interquartile range as
Q3 minus Q1.

Figure 2.7 The Middle Half of the Observations in a Frequency Distribution Lie within the Interquartile Range

Description: Bell-shaped curve. The central tendency, the middle is the median, 50th percentile.
25% to the left is the 25th percentile, the first quartile (Q1). 25% to the right of the median is the 75th
percentile, the third quartile (Q3). The interquartile range goes from Q1 to Q3 and makes up 50% of the
area under the curve. The largest value is the 100th percentile.

EXAMPLE: Finding the Interquartile Range

Find the interquartile range for the length of stay data in Table 2.8.

Step 1. Arrange the observations in increasing order.

0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11,
12, 12, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 18, 19, 22
, 27, 49

Step 2. Find the position of the 1st and 3rd quartiles. Note that the distribution has 30 observations.
Position of Q1 = (n + 1) ⁄ 4 = (30 + 1) ⁄ 4 = 7.75

Position of Q3 = 3(n + 1) ⁄ 4 = 3(30 + 1) ⁄ 4 = 23.25

Thus, Q1 lies ¾ of the way between the 7th and 8th observations, and Q3 lies ¼ of the way between the
23rd and 24th observations.

Step 3. Identify the value of the 1st and 3rd quartiles (Q1 and Q3).
Value of Q1: The position of Q1 is 7¾; therefore, the value of Q1 is equal to the value of the
7th observation plus ¾ of the difference between the values of the 7th and 8th observations:

Value of the 7th observation: 6

Value of the 8th observation: 7

Q1 = 6 + ¾(7−6) = 6 + ¾(1) = 6.75

Value of Q3: The position of Q3 was 23¼; thus, the value of Q3 is equal to the value of the 23rd observation
plus ¼ of the difference between the value of the 23rd and 24th observations:

Value of the 23rd observation: 14

Value of the 24th observation: 16

Q3 = 14 + ¼(16−14) = 14 + ¼(2) = 14 + (2 ⁄ 4) = 14.5

Step 4: Calculate the interquartile range as Q3 minus Q1 .

Q3 = 14.5
Q1 = 6.75
Interquartile range = 14.5− 6.75 = 7.75

As indicated above, the median for the length of stay data is 10. Note that the distance between Q 1 and
the median is 10 − 6.75 = 3.25. The distance between Q3 and the median is 14.5−10 = 4.5. This indicates
that the length of stay data is skewed slightly to the right (to the longer lengths of stay).

STANDARD DEVIATION

Method for calculating the standard deviation

Step 1. Calculate the arithmetic mean.

Step 2. Subtract the mean from each observation. Square the difference.

Step 3. Sum the squared differences.

Step 4. Divide the sum of the squared differences by n − 1.

Step 5. Take the square root of the value obtained in Step 4. The result is the standard deviation

EXAMPLE: Calculating the Standard Deviation

Find the mean of the following incubation periods for hepatitis A: 27, 31, 15, 30, and 22 days.

Step 1. Calculate the arithmetic mean.

Mean = (27 + 31 + 15 + 30 +22) ⁄ 5 = 125 ⁄ 5 = 25.0

Step 2. Subtract the mean from each observation. Square the difference.

Value Minus Mean Difference Difference Squared

27 − 25.0 + 2.0 4.0

31 − 225.0 + 6.0 36.0

15 − 225.0 −10.0 100.0

30 − 225.0 + 5.0 25.0

22 − 225.0 − 3.0 9.0

Step 3. Sum the squared differences.

Sum = 4 + 36 + 100 + 25 + 9 = 174

Step 4: Divide the sum of the squared differences by (n − 1). This is the variance.

Variance = 174 ⁄ (5 − 1) = 174 ⁄ 4 = 43.5 days squared

Step 5: Take the square root of the variance. The result is the standard deviation.

Standard deviation = square root of 43.5 = 6.6 days

STANDARD ERROR OF THE MEAN

The primary practical use of the standard error of the mean is in calculating confidence intervals
around the arithmetic mean.

EXAMPLE: Finding the Standard Error of the Mean

Find the standard error of the mean for the length-of-stay data in Table 2.10, given that the standard
deviation is 9.1888.

Step 1. Calculate the standard deviation.

Standard deviation (given) = 9.188

Step 2. Divide the standard deviation by the square root of n.

n = 30
Standard error of the mean = 9.188 ⁄ √30 = 9.188 ⁄ 5.477 = 1.67