Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

CHAPTER 4
4. Measures of Dispersion (Variation)

Introduction and objectives of measuring Variation

The scatter or spread of items of a distribution is known as dispersion or variation. In other
words the degree to which numerical data tend to spread about an average value is called
dispersion or variation of the data.

Measures of dispersions are statistical measures which provide ways of measuring the extent
in which data are dispersed or spread out.
Objectives of measuring Variation:
 To judge the reliability of measures of central tendency
 To control variability itself.
 To compare two or more groups of numbers in terms of their variability.
 To make further statistical analysis.
Absolute and Relative Measures of Dispersion

The measures of dispersion which are expressed in terms of the original unit of a series are
termed as absolute measures. Such measures are not suitable for comparing the variability of
two distributions which are expressed in different units of measurement and different average
size. Relative measures of dispersions are a ratio or percentage of a measure of absolute
dispersion to an appropriate measure of central tendency and are thus pure numbers
independent of the units of measurement. For comparing the variability of two distributions
(even if they are measured in the same unit), we compute the relative measure of dispersion
instead of absolute measures of dispersion.
Types of Measures of Dispersion

Various measures of dispersions are in use. The most commonly used measures of dispersions
are:
1) Range and relative range
2) Quartile deviation and coefficient of Quartile deviation
3) Mean deviation and coefficient of Mean deviation
4) Standard deviation and coefficient of variation.

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

The Range (R)

The range is the largest score minus the smallest score. It is a quick and dirty measure of
variability, although when a test is given back to students they very often wish to know the
range of scores. Because the range is greatly affected by extreme scores, it may give a
distorted picture of the scores. The following two distributions have the same range, 13, yet
appear to differ greatly in the amount of variability.

Distribution 1: 32 35 36 36 37 38 40 42 42 43 43 45

Distribution 2: 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 34 34 34 35 45

For this reason, among others, the range is not the most important measure of variability.

Range for grouped data:

If data are given in the shape of continuous frequency distribution, the range is computed as:

This is some times expressed as:

Merits and Demerits of range

Merits:
 It is rigidly defined.
 It is easy to calculate and simple to understand.
Demerits:
 It is not based on all observation.
 It is highly affected by extreme observations.
 It is affected by fluctuation in sampling.
 It is not liable to further algebraic treatment.
 It can not be computed in the case of open end distribution.
 It is very sensitive to the size of the sample.
Relative Range (RR)
it is also sometimes called coefficient of range and given by:

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Example:
1. Find the relative range of the above two distribution.(exercise!)
2. If the range and relative range of a series are 4 and 0.25 respectively. Then what
is the value of:
a) Smallest observation
b) Largest observation
Solutions :( 2)

The Quartile Deviation (Semi-inter quartile range), Q.D

The inter quartile range is the difference between the third and the first quartiles
of a set of items and semi-inter quartile range is half of the inter quartile range.

Coefficient of Quartile Deviation (C.Q.D)

 It gives the average amount by which the two quartiles differ from the
median.

Example: Compute Q.D and its coefficient for the following distribution.

Values Frequency

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

140- 150 17
150- 160 29
160- 170 42
170- 180 72
180- 190 84
190- 200 107
200- 210 49
210- 220 34
220- 230 31
230- 240 16
240- 250 12

Solutions:
In the previous chapter we have obtained the values of all quartiles as:
Q1= 174.90, Q2= 190.23, Q3=203.83

Remark: Q.D or C.Q.D includes only the middle 50% of the observation.

The Mean Deviation (M.D):

The mean deviation of a set of items is defined as the arithmetic mean of the
values of the absolute deviations from a given average. Depending up on the
type of averages used we have different mean deviations.
a) Mean Deviation about the mean
 Denoted by M.D( ) and given by

 For the case of frequency distribution it is given as:

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Steps to calculate M.D ( ):

1. Find the arithmetic mean,
2. Find the deviations of each reading from .
3. Find the arithmetic mean of the deviations, ignoring sign.

b) Mean Deviation about the median.

 Denoted by M.D( ) and given by

 For the case of frequency distribution it is given as:

Steps to calculate M.D ( ):

1. Find the median,
2. Find the deviations of each reading from .
3. Find the arithmetic mean of the deviations, ignoring sign.

c) Mean Deviation about the mode.

 Denoted by M.D( ) and given by

 For the case of frequency distribution it is given as:

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Steps to calculate M.D ( ):

1. Find the mode,
2. Find the deviations of each reading from .
3. Find the arithmetic mean of the deviations, ignoring sign.

Examples:
1. The following are the number of visit made by ten mothers to the local doctor’s
surgery. 8, 6, 5, 5, 7, 4, 5, 9, 7, 4
Find mean deviation about mean, median and mode.
Solutions:
First calculate the three averages

Then take the deviations of each observation from these averages.

Xi 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 7 8 9 total
2 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 3 14
1.5 1.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 14
1 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 4 14

2. Find mean deviation about mean, median and mode for the following
distributions.(exercise)

Class Frequency
40-44 7
45-49 10
50-54 22
55-59 15
60-64 12
65-69 6

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

70-74 3

Remark: Mean deviation is always minimum about the median.

Coefficient of Mean Deviation (C.M.D)

Example: calculate the C.M.D about the mean, median and mode for the data in
example 1 above.

Solutions:

Exercise: Identify the merits and demerits of Mean Deviation

The Variance
Population Variance
If we divide the variation by the number of values in the population, we get
something called the population variance. This variance is the "average squared
deviation from the mean".

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

For the case of frequency distribution it is expressed as:

Sample Variance

One would expect the sample variance to simply be the population variance
with the population mean replaced by the sample mean. However, one of the
major uses of statistics is to estimate the corresponding parameter. This formula
has the problem that the estimated value isn't the same as the parameter. To
counteract this, the sum of the squares of the deviations is divided by one less
than the sample size.

For the case of frequency distribution it is expressed as:

We usually use the following short cut formula.

Standard Deviation

There is a problem with variances. Recall that the deviations were squared. That
means that the units were also squared. To get the units back the same as the
original data values, the square root must be taken.

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

The following steps are used to calculate the sample variance:

1. Find the arithmetic mean.

2. Find the difference between each observation and the mean.
3. Class Frequency
Square these differences.
4. 40-44 7 Sum the squared differences.
5. 45-49 10 Since the data is a sample, divide the number
50-54 22 (from step 4 above) by the number of observations
55-59 15 minus one, i.e., n-1 (where n is equal to the
60-64 12 number of observations in the data set).
65-69 6
70-74 3

Examples: Find the variance and standard deviation of the following sample data
1. 5, 17, 12, 10.
2. The data is given in the form of frequency distribution.

Solutions:
1.

Xi 5 10 12 17 Total
2
(Xi- 36 1 1 36 74

2.
Xi(C.M) 42 47 52 57 62 67 72 Total
fi(Xi- 2 1183 640 198 60 588 864 867 4400

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 Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Special properties of Standard deviations

1.
2. For normal (symmetric distribution the following holds.
 Approximately 68.27% of the data values fall within one standard deviation
of the mean. i.e. with in
 Approximately 95.45% of the data values fall within two standard deviations
of the mean. i.e. with in
 Approximately 99.73% of the data values fall within three standard
deviations of the mean. i.e. with in
3. Chebyshev's Theorem
For any data set ,no matter what the pattern of variation, the proportion of
the values that fall with in k standard deviations of the mean or
will be at least , where k is a number greater than 1. i.e. the proportion of

items falling beyond k standard deviations of the mean is at most

Example: Suppose a distribution has mean 50 and standard deviation
6.What percent of the numbers are:
a) Between 38 and 62
b) Between 32 and 68
c) Less than 38 or more than 62.
d) Less than 32 or more than 68.

Solutions:

a) 38 and 62 are at equal distance from the mean,50 and this distance is 12

 Applying the above theorem at least of the numbers lie between

38 and 62.

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

b) Similarly done.
c) It is just the complement of a) i.e. at most of the numbers lie
less than 32 or more than 62.
d) Similarly done.

Example 2:
The average score of a special test of knowledge of wood refinishing has a
mean of 53 and standard deviation of 6. Find the range of values in which at
least 75% the scores will lie. (Exercise)
4. If the standard deviation of , then the standard deviation of
a)
b)
c)
Exercise: Verify each of the above relation ship, considering k and a as
constants.

Examples:
1. The mean and standard deviation of n Tetracycline Capsules
are known to be 12 gm and 3 gm respectively. New set of capsules of another
drug are obtained by the linear transformation Yi = 2Xi – 0.5 ( i = 1, 2, …, n )
then what will be the standard deviation of the new set of capsules
2. The mean and the standard deviation of a set of numbers are respectively 500
and 10.
a. If 10 is added to each of the numbers in the set, then what
will be the variance and standard deviation of the new set?
b. If each of the numbers in the set are multiplied by -5, then
what will be the variance and standard deviation of the
new set?

Solutions:
1. Using c) above the new standard deviation =
2. a. They will remain the same.
b. New standard deviation=

Coefficient of Variation (C.V)

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

 Is defined as the ratio of standard deviation to the mean usually expressed as

percents.

 The distribution having less C.V is said to be less variable or more consistent.
Examples:
1. An analysis of the monthly wages paid (in Birr) to workers in two firms A
and B belonging to the same industry gives the following results

Value Firm A Firm B

Mean wage 52.5 47.5
Median wage 50.5 45.5
Variance 100 121

In which firm A or B is there greater variability in individual wages?

Solutions:
Calculate coefficient of variation for both firms.

Since C.VA < C.VB, in firm B there is greater variability in individual wages.
2. A meteorologist interested in the consistency of temperatures in three cities
during a given week collected the following data. The temperatures for the
five days of the week in the three cities were
City 1 25 24 23 26 17
City2 22 21 24 22 20
City3 32 27 35 24 28
Which city have the most consistent temperature, based on these data?
(Exercise)

Standard Scores (Z-scores)

 If X is a measurement from a distribution with mean and standard

deviation S, then its value in standard units is

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

 Z gives the deviations from the mean in units of standard deviation

 Z gives the number of standard deviation a particular observation lie
above or below the mean.
 It is used to compare two observations coming from different groups.
Examples:
1. Two sections were given introduction to statistics examinations. The
following information was given.

Value Section 1 Section 2

Mean 78 90
Stan.deviation 6 5

Student A from section 1 scored 90 and student B from section 2 scored

95.Relatively speaking who performed better?

Solutions:
Calculate the standard score of both students.

 Student A performed better relative to his section because the score of

student A is two standard deviation above the mean score of his section while,
the score of student B is only one standard deviation above the mean score of his
section.
2. Two groups of people were trained to perform a certain task and tested to
find out which group is faster to learn the task. For the two groups the
following information was given:

Value Group one Group two

Mean 10.4 min 11.9 min
Stan.dev. 1.2 min 1.3 min
Relatively speaking:
a) Which group is more consistent in its performance
b) Suppose a person A from group one take 9.2 minutes while person B from
Group two take 9.3 minutes, who was faster in performing the task? Why?

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Solutions:
a) Use coefficient of variation.

Since C.V2 < C.V1, group 2 is more consistent.

b) Calculate the standard score of A and B

Child B is faster because the time taken by child B is two standard deviation
shorter than the average time taken by group 2 while, the time taken by child A
is only one standard deviation shorter than the average time taken by group 1.

Moments
- If X is a variable that assume the values X1, X2,…..,Xn then
1. The rth moment is defined as:

- For the case of frequency distribution this is expressed as:

- If ,it is the simple arithmetic mean, this is called the first moment.

2. The rth moment about the mean ( the rth central moment)

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

- Denoted by Mr and defined as:

- For the case of frequency distribution this is expressed as:

- If , it is population variance, this is called the second central moment. If we

assume , it is also the sample variance.

3. The rth moment about any number A is defined as:

- Denoted by and given as:

- For the case of frequency distribution this is expressed as:

Example:
1. Find the first two moments for the following set of numbers 2, 3, 7
2. Find the first three central moments of the numbers in problem 1
3. Find the third moment about the number 3 of the numbers in problem 1.

Solutions:
1. Use the rth moment formula.

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

2. Use the rth central moment formula.

3. Use the rth moment about A.

Skewness and Kurtosis

Skewness
- Skewness is the degree of asymmetry or departure from symmetry of a
distribution.
- A skewed frequency distribution is one that is not symmetrical.
- Skewness is concerned with the shape of the curve not size.
- If the frequency curve (smoothed frequency polygon) of a distribution has a
longer tail to the right of the central maximum than to the left, the distribution
is said to be skewed to the right or said to have positive skewness. If it has a
longer tail to the left of the central maximum than to the right, it is said to be
skewed to the left or said to have negative skewness.
- For moderately skewed distribution, the following relation holds among the
three commonly used measures of central tendency.

Measures of Skewness
-Denoted by
-There are various measures of skewness.
1. The Pearsonian coefficient of skewness

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

2. The Bowley’s coefficient of skewness ( coefficient of skewness

based on quartiles)

3. The moment coefficient of skewness

Note:
The shape of the curve is determined by the value of .




Remark:
o In a positively skewed distribution, smaller observations are more frequent
than larger observations. i.e. the majority of the observations have a value
below an average.
o In a negatively skewed distribution, smaller observations are less frequent
than larger observations. i.e. the majority of the observations have a value
above an average.

Examples:
1. Suppose the mean, the mode, and the standard deviation of a certain
distribution are 32, 30.5 and 10 respectively. What is the shape of the curve
representing the distribution?
Solutions:
Use the Pearsonian coefficient of skewness

2. In a frequency distribution, the coefficient of skewness based on the quartiles

is given to be 0.5. If the sum of the upper and lower quartile is 28 and the
median is 11, find the values of the upper and lower quartiles.

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Solutions:

Given: Required:

3. Some characteristics of annually family income distribution (in Birr) in two

regions is as follows:
Region Mean Median Standard Deviation
A 6250 5100 960
B 6980 5500 940
a) Calculate coefficient of skewness for each region
b) For which region is, the income distribution more skewed. Give your
interpretation for this Region
c) For which region is the income more consistent?

Solutions: (exercise)
4. For a moderately skewed frequency distribution, the mean is 10 and the
median is 8.5. If the coefficient of variation is 20%, find the Pearsonian
coefficient of skewness and the probable mode of the distribution. (exercise)
5. The sum of fifteen observations, whose mode is 8, was found to be 150 with
coefficient of variation of 20%
(a) Calculate the pearsonian coefficient of skewness and give appropriate
conclusion.
(b) Are smaller values more or less frequent than bigger values for this
distribution?
(c) If a constant k was added on each observation, what will be the new
pearsonian coefficient of skewness? Show your steps. What do you
conclude from this?
Solutions: (exercise)

Kurtosis

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Lecture notes on probability and Statistics Chapter 4: MEASURES OF Dispersion (Variation)

Kurtosis is the degree of peakdness of a distribution, usally taken relative to a

normal distribution. A distribution having relatively high peak is called
leptokurtic. If a curve representing a distribution is flat topped, it is called
platykurtic. The normal distribution which is not very high peaked or flat
topped is called mesokurtic.
Measures of kurtosis
The moment coefficient of kurtosis:
 Denoted by and given by

The peakdness depends on the value of .




Examples:
1. If the first four central moments of a distribution are:

a) Compute a measure of skewness

b) Compute a measure of kurtosis and give your
interpretation.

Solutions:

a)

b)

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