Describing Data
Measure of Dispersions
Dutimoyi Jahangir
Lecturer
Department of Textile Engineering, KUET
Dispersion
Why Study Dispersion?
A measure of location, such as the mean or the median,
only describes the center of the data. It is valuable
from that standpoint, but it does not tell us anything
about the spread of the data.
Dispersion tells about the spread of data. A small
indicates that data are clustered closely around the
mean. A large measure of dispersion indicates that the
mean is not reliable.
A second reason for studying the dispersion in a set of
data is to compare the spread in two or more
distributions. 2
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Mean Deviation
Variance
Standard Deviation
Range
The range is the difference between the largest value and
the smallest value in a set of data.
Range= Largest Value - Smallest Value
The major characteristics are:
a. Only two values are used in its calculation.
b. It is influenced by extreme values.
c. It is easy to compute and to understand.
4
Mean Deviation
Mean Deviation is the arithmetic mean of absolute values
of the deviations from the arithmetic mean.
∑⃒𝑿−𝑿�⃒⃒͞͞
MD:
𝒏
The major characteristics are:
a. It is not unduly influenced by large or small values.
b. All observations are used in the calculation.
5
Variance
Variance is the arithmetic mean of the squared deviations
from the mean.
The major characteristics are:
a. All observations are used in the calculation.
b. It is not unduly influenced by extreme observations.
c. The units are somewhat difficult to work with; they
are the original units squared.
Types of Variance
Population Variance
∑ 𝑿−µ ²
𝑵
Sample Variance
∑ 𝑿 − 𝑿�⃒͞͞ ²
𝒏−𝟏
7
Standard Deviation
The standard deviation is the square root of variance.
Two types of Standard Deviation-
∑ 𝑿−µ ²
Population Standard Deviation: √
𝑵
∑ 𝑿−𝑿�⃒͞͞ ²
Sample Standard Deviation: √
𝒏−𝟏
EXAMPLE – Range & Mean Deviation
The number of cappuccinos sold at the Starbucks location in the
Orange Country Airport between 4 and 7 p.m. for a sample of 5
days last year were 20, 40, 50, 60, and 80. Determine range & the
mean deviation for the number of cappuccinos sold.
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SOLUTION
Range = Largest – Smallest value
= 80 – 20 = 60
͞X= 20+40+50+60+80 = 250 = 50
5 5
EXAMPLE – Population Variance
The number of traffic citations issued during the last
five months in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is
38, 26, 13, 41, and 22. What is the population
variance?
11
EXERCISE – Sample Variance
The hourly wages for a sample of part-time
employees at Home Depot are: $12, $20, $16, $18,
and $19. What is the sample variance?
Also calculate the standard deviation for this and the
previous problem.
12
Standard Deviation of Grouped Data
We constructed a frequency distribution for the
vehicle selling prices. The information is repeated
below. Compute the sample standard deviation of the
vehicle selling prices.
Selling Prices($ thousands) Frequency
15 upto 18 8
18 upto 21 23
21 upto 24 17
24 upto 27 18
27 upto 30 8
30 upto 33 4
13
33 upto 36 2
Solution
͞X =∑𝑓𝑀 = 1845 = $23.1
𝑛 80
