QUARTILE DEVIATION OR SEMI INTER – QUARTILE RANGE

This measure of dispersion is based on the upper quartile (𝑄𝑄3) and the lower quartile (𝑄𝑄1) .
The Inter Quartile range = (𝑄𝑄3 − 𝑄𝑄1 )

Quartile deviation is found from the inter-quartile range on dividing by 2 and hence is also
known as semi inter – quartile range. Quartile Deviation (Q.D) or
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
Semi Inter Quartile =
𝟐𝟐
It is an absolute measure and is known as Quartile Deviation (Q.D)
Now as Median is the middle value, (𝑄𝑄3) is bigger than Median is bigger than (𝑄𝑄1), as (𝑄𝑄1) ,
(𝑄𝑄2) = M and (𝑄𝑄3) cover 25,50, and 75% of the items

The quartile deviation gives the average amount by which two quartiles differ from median.
For a symmetrical distribution.
𝑄𝑄3 – M = M - 𝑄𝑄1
Where M = Median, 𝑄𝑄1 = Lower Quartile and 𝑄𝑄3 = Upper Quartile.
It means median lies half way on the scale from 𝑄𝑄1 to 𝑄𝑄3
Thus, for symmetrical distribution we have
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
𝑸𝑸. 𝑫𝑫. + 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = + 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = = 𝑴𝑴
𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
And 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸. 𝑫𝑫. + 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 = + 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = = 𝑴𝑴
𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐

Alternatively, for a symmetrical distribution,

𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = 𝑴𝑴 − 𝑸𝑸𝑸𝑸
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 = 𝑴𝑴 + 𝑸𝑸𝑸𝑸

Coefficient of Quartile Deviation

Quartile Deviation is an absolute measure of dispersion. For comparative studies of
variability of two distributions we need a relative measure. Its relative measure is the
coefficient of Quartile Deviation.
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 + 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
It is used to compare the degree of variation in different series.
How to compute
A. Individual Series
From the following data compute inter quartile range, quartile Deviation and Coefficient of
Quartile deviation.
24 7 11 9 17 3 20 14 4 22 27

Solution
Arranging the series in Ascending order
3 4 7 9 11 14 17 20 22 24 27

N=11
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 + 𝟏𝟏
𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏=𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 � � 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝟕𝟕
𝟒𝟒

𝟑𝟑(𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 + 𝟏𝟏)
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑=𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 � � 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 9th 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐.
𝟒𝟒
Inter Quartile Range = 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 − 𝟕𝟕 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
Semi Quartile Range
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏
(Or) =
𝟐𝟐 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝟐𝟐 = 𝟕𝟕. 𝟓𝟓
Quartile Deviation (Q.D.)
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐−𝟕𝟕 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
Coefficient of Q.D. = = = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 +𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐+𝟕𝟕 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
B. Discrete Series
Compute Inter Quartile Range, Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
X 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
F 4 9 17 40 53 37 24 16

Solution:
X F C.f.
4 4 4
8 9 13
12 17 30
16 40 70
20 53 123
24 37 160
28 24 184
32 16 200
N=200

200 + 𝟏𝟏
𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏=𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 � � 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝟒𝟒

𝟑𝟑(200 + 𝟏𝟏)
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑=𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 � � 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 150.75th 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐.
𝟒𝟒

Inter Quartile Range = 𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 − 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 = 𝟖𝟖

𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 − 𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐−𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟖𝟖

Quartile Deviation (Q.D.) = = = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 +𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐+𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒
C. Continuous Series
Test was given in two subjects to a class of 50 students. Using Coefficient of Quartile
Deviation. Find which series is more variable.
Marks 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
Maths 2 3 7 21 10 5 2
Economics 12 6 5 10 8 4 5

Solution:
C.I Math (f) Cf Economics (F) Cf
20-30 2 2 12 12
30-40 3 5 6 18
40-50 7 12 5 23
50-60 21 33 10 33
60-70 10 43 8 41
70-80 5 48 4 45
80-90 2 50 5 50

For Series I (Maths)

𝑵𝑵𝟏𝟏 − 𝑪𝑪𝒇𝒇 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟓𝟓 − 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = 𝑳𝑳 + 𝑿𝑿 𝒊𝒊 = 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 + 𝑿𝑿 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝒇𝒇 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐

𝟓𝟓
= 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 + = 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 + 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 = 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
𝑵𝑵𝟏𝟏 − 𝑪𝑪𝒇𝒇 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟓𝟓 − 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 = 𝑳𝑳 + 𝑿𝑿 𝒊𝒊 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 + 𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 + 𝟒𝟒. 𝟓𝟓 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔. 𝟓𝟓
𝒇𝒇 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔.𝟓𝟓−𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓.𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
Coefficient of Q.D = = = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔.𝟓𝟓+𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓.𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏.𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

For Series I (Economics)

𝑵𝑵𝟏𝟏 − 𝑪𝑪𝒇𝒇 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟓𝟓 − 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

𝑸𝑸𝟏𝟏 = 𝑳𝑳 + 𝑿𝑿 𝒊𝒊 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 + 𝑿𝑿 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝒇𝒇 𝟔𝟔
𝟓𝟓
= 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 + = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 + 𝟎𝟎. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖
𝟔𝟔

𝑵𝑵𝟏𝟏 − 𝑪𝑪𝒇𝒇 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟓𝟓 − 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑

𝑸𝑸𝟑𝟑 = 𝑳𝑳 + 𝑿𝑿 𝒊𝒊 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 + 𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿𝑿
𝒇𝒇 𝟖𝟖
𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒
= 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 + = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 + 𝟓𝟓. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 = 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔
𝟖𝟖

𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔.𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔−𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑.𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑.𝟖𝟖
Coefficient of Q.D = = = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔.𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔+𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑.𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗.𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒
 Percentile

Symbolically
Percentile Range = 𝑃𝑃90 − 𝑃𝑃10 or 𝐷𝐷9 − 𝐷𝐷1
For Individual series
Compute percentile range
30 9 12 29 18 24 13 27 7

Solution
7 9 13 18 21 24 27 29 30

N=9
Percentile = 𝑃𝑃90 − 𝑃𝑃10
90(9 + 1)
𝑃𝑃90 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 9𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 30
100
10(9 + 1)
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝑃𝑃10 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 1𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 7
100

Percentile range = 𝑃𝑃90 − 𝑃𝑃10 = 30 − 7 = 23

Discreate Series
Compute Percentile Range from the Following data.
X 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
F 4 9 17 40 53 37 24 16

Solution:
X F CF
4 4 4
8 9 13
12 17 30
16 40 70
20 53 123
24 37 160
28 24 184
32 16 200
N = 200
 90(200 + 1)
𝑃𝑃90 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 180.9𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 28
100

10(200 + 1)
𝑃𝑃10 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 20.1𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 12
100

Percentile range = 𝑃𝑃90 − 𝑃𝑃10 = 28 − 12 = 16

Questions on Quartile Deviation and Percentile

1. Find Lower quartile, upper quartile and Coefficient of Q.D from the following data.
Wages 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50
No. of Workers 22 38 46 35 20

2. Compute coefficient of Quartile Deviation for the following data.

X 90-80 80-70 70-60 60-50 50-40 40-30 30-20 20-10
F 15 36 63 92 138 88 37 11

3. Compute Inter-Quartile range, Quartile Deviation, Coefficient of Quartile Deviation

for following data. And Percentile
19 9 15 21 4 3 23 11 7 26 14

4. Compute Inter-Quartile range, Quartile Deviation, Coefficient of Quartile Deviation

for following data. And Percentile
20 28 12 40 50 15 30

5. Marks of 9 student of a class in two subjects is given below. In which subject are
they better?
Subjects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Accounts 12 23 18 16 45 29 34 37 14
Economics 27 25 33 19 34 11 36 35 17