CHAPTER 6: MEASURES OF DISPERSION/VARIATION

Dispersion is the measure of the extent to which the individual values vary or the degree to
which the numerical data tend to spread about an average value. There are two types:
1. Absolute measures of dispersion
2. Relative measures of dispersion.
Consider the two distributions of weights of a product produced by two machines, shown below.
Distribution of weights of a product
Machine A B
Sample size 1000 1000
Average weight 80 80
Minimum weight 20 40
Maximum weight 140 100

Machine ‘B’ produces products with weights much closer to the average than Machine ‘A’. As a
manufacturer or customer, we would choose Machine ‘B’. In other words, we choose that
machine whose spread is smaller.
The property of deviations of values from the average is called dispersion or variations. The
degree of variations is found by absolute measures of variation. They are:
✓ Range (R)
✓ Quartile Deviations (Q.D)
✓ Mean Deviations (M.D)
✓ Standard Deviations (S.D)
They have units of measurement attached to them. Therefore, they are known as absolute
measures of variations. However, we may want to compare two different distributions whose
measurements are one in terms of Kilograms and another in terms of centimeters. Then, we use the
following relative measures that do not have any units attached to them. The other types of
measures are:
✓ Coefficient of Range
✓ Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
✓ Coefficient of Mean Deviation
✓ Coefficient of Variation
They are known as relative measures or coefficients of variation.
1. RANGE: is the difference between highest and lowest value of the data.
R = L - S where, L: Largest value and S: The smallest value

𝐿−𝑆
Coefficient of range=𝐿+𝑆
 The table below shows the merits and demerits of range.

Merits Demerits
It is easily understood and simple to It is not based on all values. It uses extreme values only.
calculate.

It is rigidly defined. It is affected by extreme values.

Example: Find the range of the following discrete series

26, 28, 28, 26, 28, 30, 27, 29, 26, 24
Solution: The range ‘R’ is calculated as:

R = L – S = 30 – 24 = 6. Therefore, the range of the given data series is 6.

Example: Find the range for the continuous series of data shown below.

Class Interval 0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25

Frequency 10 15 25 12 8
Solution: Range = 25 – 0 = 25. Therefore, the range of the given continuous series is 25.
2. STANDARD DEVIATION
Measures of dispersion range and Q.D are not based on all values. Mean deviation based
on all values does not take into consideration the positive or negative sign. Therefore, a
measure that removes both drawbacks is given by standard deviation (S.D). The standard
deviation of a set of values is the positive square root of mean of the squared deviations
of the values from their arithmetic mean. It is denoted by ‘s’ for sample data or ‘’
population.
2
∑𝑛
𝑖=1 𝑓𝑖 (𝑥𝑖 −𝑥̅ )
2 ∑ 𝑁
𝑓 (𝑥𝑖 −𝑥
̅)
For sample 𝑠 = √ and for population 𝜎 = √ 𝑖=1 𝑖
𝑛−1 𝑁

Where xi is the ith for ungrouped data and the class mark of the ith class .
✓ The square of standard deviation is called variance and is denoted by s2 or 2.

Alternative Formula (simple for calculation)

𝟐
𝟐 √𝑵(∑𝑵 𝟐 𝑵
𝒏(∑𝒏 𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 )−(∑𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 )
𝟐 𝒏
𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 )−(∑𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 )
𝒔=√ and 𝜎 =
𝒏(𝒏−𝟏) 𝑁

Example: The diastolic blood pressures of men are distributed as shown in the table below. Find
the standard deviation and variance.
 Pressure(men) 78-80 80-82 82-84 84-86 86-88 88-90
No. of Men 3 15 26 23 9 4
Solution: Frequency distribution of data
Class CMi fi
fi xi2 fi*xi2
Boundary (xi) *xi
78-80 79 3 237 6241 18723
80-82 81 15 1215 6561 98415
82-84 83 26 2158 6889 179114
84-86 85 23 1955 7225 166175
86-88 87 9 783 7569 68121
88-90 89 4 356 7921 31684
Total 80 6704 562232

∑𝒏𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 𝟐 = 𝟓𝟔𝟐𝟐𝟑𝟐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 (∑𝒏𝒊=𝟏 𝒇𝒊 𝒙𝒊 )𝟐 = (𝟔𝟕𝟎𝟒)𝟐 =44943616

Therefore, Standard deviation of the frequency distribution is

80(562232 )−44943616
𝑠=√ = √5.53 and the variance is s2 = 5.53
80∗79

Exercise: Find the variance and standard deviation of the following discrete series
26, 28, 28, 26, 28, 30, 27, 29, 26, 24
Properties of standard deviation
1. It is independent of origin but not independent of scale.
2. Standard deviation is always greater than or equal to zero.
3. Let SDo and Vo be the standard deviation and variance of the original data.
a. If a constant k is added to each original data, then SDo =SDnew & Vo = Vnew.

4. If each original item is multiplied by a constant k, then SDnew = kSDo & Vnew = k2Vo.
Merits and demerits of standard deviation
Merits Demerits
It is based on all values. It is difficult to understand.
It is capable of further algebraic treatment. It gives undue weightage for extreme values.
 It is not very much affected by sampling It cannot be calculated for classes with open end
fluctuations. interval.

Coefficient of Variation
When we want to compare two different sets of values pertaining to different characteristics or
pertaining to same characteristic, then we use coefficient of variation (CV). It is a relative
measure expressed in percentage and is defined as:
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛
CV in % = × 100%
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
It is used to compare the homogeneity or stability or uniformity or consistency of two or more
data sets. A low value of coefficient of variation indicates a low degree of variation.
For the data given under the previous example, CV = (2.336/83)x100 = 2.8%
Exercise
Find standard deviations of the two series shown below. State which series is more stable?

Series A 192, 288, 236, 229, 184, 160, 384, 291, 330, 243

Series B 31 48, 13, 51, 38, 43, 50, 36, 47, 82

,
ANSWERS TO EXERCISES:
The series A is more stable, since the CV for series A (22.15) is less than the CV for series B
(38.02).