Data Science

Dr. Khaled Almghari

16-2-2025
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• What is Skewness?
• Skewness is a statistical measure that assesses the
asymmetry of a probability distribution. It quantifies the
extent to which the data is skewed or shifted to one side.
• Positive skewness indicates a longer tail on the right side of
the distribution, while negative skewness indicates a longer
tail on the left side. Skewness helps in understanding the
shape and outliers in a dataset.
• Depending on the model, skewness in the values of a specific
independent variable (feature) may violate model
assumptions or diminish the interpretation of feature
importance.
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• A probability distribution that deviates from the symmetrical normal
distribution (bell curve) in a given set of data exhibits skewness, which is a
measure of asymmetry in statistics.
• A skewed data set, typical values fall between the first quartile (Q1) and the
third quartile (Q3).
• The normal distribution helps to know a skewness. When we talk about
normal distribution, data symmetrically distributed. The symmetrical
distribution has zero skewness as all measures of a central tendency lies in
the middle.
• In a symmetrically distributed dataset, both the left-hand side and the right-
hand side have an equal number of observations. (If the dataset has 90
values, then the left-hand side has 45 observations, and the right-hand side
has 45 observations.). But, what if not symmetrical distributed? That data is
called asymmetrical data, and that time skewness comes into the picture.
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• Types of Skewness
• Positive Skewed or Right-Skewed (Positive Skewness)
• In statistics, a positively skewed or right-skewed distribution has a long
right tail. It is a sort of distribution where the measures are dispersing,
unlike symmetrically distributed data where all measures of the central
tendency (mean, median, and mode) equal each other. This makes
Positively Skewed Distribution a type of distribution where the mean,
median, and mode of the distribution are positive rather than negative
or zero.
• In positively skewed, the mean of the data is greater than the median (a
large number of data-pushed on the right-hand side). In other words,
the results are bent towards the lower side. The mean will be more
than the median as the median is the middle value and mode is always
the most frequent value.
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• Negative Skewed or Left-Skewed (Negative Skewness)
• A distribution with a long left tail, known as negatively skewed
or left-skewed, stands in complete contrast to a positively
skewed distribution. skewness and kurtosis in statistics,
negatively skewed distribution refers to the distribution model
where more values are plots on the right side of the graph,
and the tail of the distribution is spreading on the left side.
• In negatively skewed, the mean of the data is less than the
median (a large number of data-pushed on the left-hand side).
Negatively Skewed Distribution is a type of distribution where
the mean, median, and mode of the distribution are negative
rather than positive or zero.
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• What is Kurtosis?
• Kurtosis is a statistical measure that quantifies the shape of a
probability distribution. It provides information about the tails
and peakedness of the distribution compared to a normal
distribution.
• Positive kurtosis indicates heavier tails and a more peaked
distribution, while negative kurtosis suggests lighter tails and a
flatter distribution. Kurtosis helps in analyzing the characteristics
and outliers of a dataset.
• The measure of Kurtosis refers to the tailedness of a distribution.
Tailedness refers to how often the outliers occur.
• Peakedness in a data distribution is the degree to which data
values are concentrated around the mean.
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• Datasets with high kurtosis tend to have a distinct peak
near the mean, decline rapidly, and have heavy tails.
Datasets with low kurtosis tend to have a flat top near
the mean rather than a sharp peak.
• In finance, kurtosis is used as a measure of financial
risk. A large kurtosis is associated with a high level of
risk for an investment because it indicates that there are
high probabilities of extremely large and extremely
small returns. On the other hand, a small kurtosis
signals a moderate level of risk because the
probabilities of extreme returns are relatively low.
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• Mesokurtic: A distribution with mesokurtic kurtosis has a similar peak
and tail shape as the normal distribution. It has a kurtosis value of
around 0, indicating that its tails are neither too heavy nor too light
compared to a normal distribution.
• Leptokurtic: A distribution with leptokurtic kurtosis has heavier tails
and a sharper peak than the normal distribution. It has a positive
kurtosis value, indicating that it has more extreme outliers than a
normal distribution. This type of distribution is often associated with
higher peakedness and a greater probability of extreme values.
• Platykurtic: A distribution with platykurtic kurtosis has lighter tails and
a flatter peak than the normal distribution. It has a negative kurtosis
value, indicating that it has fewer extreme outliers than a normal
distribution. This type of distribution is often associated with less
peakedness and a lower probability of extreme values.
 SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
• Distribution on the basis of skewness value:
• Skewness = 0: Then normally distributed.
• Skewness > 0: Then more weight in the left tail of the distribution.
• Skewness < 0: Then more weight in the right tail of the distribution.
• Kurtosis:
• It is also a statistical term and an important characteristic of frequency
distribution. It determines whether a distribution is heavy-tailed in respect of
the normal distribution. It provides information about the shape of a
frequency distribution.
• kurtosis for normal distribution is equal to 3.
• For a distribution having kurtosis < 3: It is called playkurtic.
• For a distribution having kurtosis > 3, It is called leptokurtic and it signifies
that it tries to produce more outliers rather than the normal distribution.
• This article focuses on how to Calculate Skewness & Kurtosis in Python.
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
SKEWNESS and KURTOSIS
Thanks for your attention