Statistic with Computer Application

Module/lesson 4

Measures of Variability

Learning objectives:

1. Define variability and illustrate its meaning;

2. Interpret the dispersion of scores whether homogeneous or heterogeneous;
3. Differentiate range from semi-interquartile range;
4. Calculate the range and semi-interquartile range in ungrouped and grouped distribution;
5. Differentiate mean absolute deviation from standard deviation;
6. Calculate the mean absolute deviation, variance and standard deviation for ungrouped data and
grouped data
7. Calculate and interpret the coefficient of variability between two or more data; and
8. Calculate and interpret the value of skewness and kurtosis in a distribution.

Learning Activity

 Exercise 5.1 ………………………………………………………………. page 137

 Exercise 5.2 ………………………………………………………………. page 147
 Exercise 5.3 ………………………………………………………………. page 151
 Exercise 5.4 ………………………………………………………………. page 153

Resource:

Statistics with Computer Applications

By: Priscilla S. Altares, Antonio Roland I. CoPo, Yonardo A. Gabuyo, Angeline T. Laddaran

Introduction:
Measure of variability is a summary statistic that represents the amount of dispersion in a dataset.
How spread out are the values? While a measure of central tendency describes the typical value, measures
of variability define how far away the data points tend to fall from the center. We talk about variability in
the context of a distribution of values. A low dispersion indicates that the data points tend to be clustered
tightly around the center. High dispersion signifies that they tend to fall further away. Measures of
variability determine the range of the distribution, relative to the measures of central tendency. Were the
measures of central tendency being specific data points, measures of variability are lengths between
various points within the distribution. The spread of these data points tells you about variability. Variation
or variability is measured in terms of range, mean deviation, variance, and standard deviation. In this
module more details about them will be discussed.

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 When data are described by a measure of central tendency (mean, median, or mode), all the
scores are summarized by a single value. Reports of central tendency are commonly supplemented and
complemented by measures of a variability, and these measures are known to communicate how scores
are spread around the mean in a particular distribution and these are the following:

1. The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
2. The Average Deviation is the amount that each score deviates from the mean.
3. The Semi-Interquartile Range represents half the distance on a scale between 𝑄1 and 𝑄2
4. The variance is defined as the average of the squared deviations.
5. The standard Deviation is the square root of the sum of the squared deviations about the mean,
divided by the number of scores.

The range
The range of a dataset is the difference between the largest and smallest values in that dataset.
For example, in the two datasets below, dataset 1 has a range of 20 – 38 = 18 while dataset 2 has a range
of 11 – 52 = 41. Dataset 2 has a broader range and, hence, more variability than dataset 1.

Average Deviation
The average deviation of a set of scores is calculated by computing the mean and then the specific
distance between each score and that mean without regard to whether the score is above or below the
mean. It is also called an average absolute deviation.

The mean Absolute Deviation of Ungrouped Data

To calculate the average deviation,
1. Calculate first the mean.
2. Subtract the mean from all of the raw scores. These scores are now called the
deviation scores or simply deviations and are represented by little “d”.
3. Sum up all the absolute deviation scores and divide by the total number of scores
4. The resulting quotient is the average deviation.

The formula to find the mean absolute deviation is:

∑ 𝑥−ẍ ∑𝑑
M.A.D. = or M.A.D. =
𝑛 𝑛

Where: ∑ 𝑥 − ẍ = ∑ 𝑑 = sum of all absolute deviations from the mean

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 n = total number of scores or values

The absolute value of the deviations from the mean is the difference between a score and the
mean without regard to the sign ( + or - ).

Example: 50 98 82 23 46 40 63 52 92 54.

Mean ẍ = 60

X (X- ẍ) /X- ẍ/
50 -10 10
98 38 38
82 22 22 /𝐗− ẍ/
23 -37 37 M.A.D =
𝑛
46 -14 14 190
40 -20 20
10
63 3 3
52 -8 8 = 19
92 32 32
54 -6 6
n = 10 ∑/𝐗 − ẍ/ = 190

The Mean Absolute Deviation of Grouped Data

In finding the M.A.D. of grouped set of values, this formula is used:

∑ 𝑓/ 𝑋−ẍ /
M.A.D. =
𝑛

Where: ∑/𝐗 − ẍ/ = sum of the product of f and the absolute deviations

n = total number of samples values

Example: no. 1

X f X-ẍ /X - ẍ/ f/X - ẍ/
72 1 7 7 7
70 1 5 5 5
67 1 2 2 2
66 2 1 1 2
64 1 -1 1 1
62 1 -3 3 3
61 3 -4 4 12
ẍ = 65 n = 10 ∑ 𝑓/𝑋 − ẍ/ = 32

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 ∑ 𝑓/ 𝑋−ẍ / 32
M.A.D. = = 3.2
𝑛 10

Example no. 2

Given below are the monthly salaries of 40 employees in a certain company. Find the value of
MAD of the distribution

Class Limits f 𝑿𝒎 𝒇𝑿𝒎 /𝑿𝒎 - ẍ/ f/𝑿𝒎 - ẍ/

(in hundred of (class mark)
pesos)
96-100 3 98 294 17.25 51.75
91-95 4 93 372 12.25 49
86-90 8 88 704 7.25 58
81-85 7 83 581 2.25 15.75
76-80 6 78 468 2.75 16.50
71-75 5 73 365 7.75 38.75
66-70 3 68 204 12.75 38.25
61-65 2 63 126 17.75 35.50
56-60 2 58 116 22.75 45.50
n = 40 ∑ 𝑓𝑋𝑚 = 3,230 ∑ 𝐟/𝑿𝒎 − ẍ/ = 349

3,230 ∑ 𝐟/𝑿𝒎 − ẍ/ 349

ẍ = = 80.75 MAD = = = 8.725 0r 8.73
40 𝑛 40

To interpret the value 8.73: On the average, the monthly salaries of the 40 employees differ from the
mean monthly salary of P8,075 by P873.00

The variance and the Standard Deviation of Ungrouped Data

∑(𝑋− ẍ)2 ∑(𝑋− ẍ)2

𝑆2 = S = √
𝑛−1 𝑛−1

Where:

𝑆2 = variance of a sample
S = standard deviation of a sample
X = sample values
ẍ = sample mean
n = total number of values in the sample

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Example: 50 98 82 23 46 40 63 52 92 54
ẍ = 60

X (X - ẍ ) (X - ẍ )2
50 -10 100
98 38 1444
82 22 484
23 37 1369
46 -14 196
40 -20 400
63 3 9
52 -8 64
92 32 1024
54 -6 36
n = 10 ∑(X − ẍ )2 = 5126

∑(𝑋− ẍ)2 ∑(𝑋− ẍ)2

𝑆2 = S = √
𝑛−1 𝑛−1

5126
𝑆2 = = 569.56 S = √569.56 = 23.87
10−1

The Variance and the Standard Deviation of Grouped Data

The formulas used in finding the variance and standard deviation of grouped data are the
following:

∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− µ)2 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− µ)2

A. ṍ2= = ṍ= √
𝑁 𝑁

Where: ṍ 2 = population variance

f = frequency of each class

𝑋𝑚 = midpoint of each class

µ = population mean

ṍ = population standard deviation

N = total number of observations in a population

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 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− ẍ)2 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− ẍ)2
B. S2= = S= √
𝑛−1 𝑛−1

Where: S 2 = sample variance

f = frequency of each class

𝑋𝑚 = midpoint of each class

ẍ = population

s = sample standard deviation

n = total number of observations in a sample

Example: Given below are the monthly salaries of 40 employees in a certain company. Find the value of
MAD of the distribution.

Class f 𝑿𝒎
Limits (in (number of (class 𝒇𝑿𝒎 (𝑿𝒎 − ẍ) (𝑿𝒎 − ẍ)𝟐 𝒇(𝑿𝒎 − ẍ)𝟐
hundreds employees) mark)
of pesos)
96-100 3 98 294 17.25 297.5625 892.6875
91-95 4 93 372 12.25 150.0625 600.25
86-90 8 88 704 7.25 52.5625 420.50
81-85 7 83 581 2.25 5.0625 35.4375
76-80 6 78 468 2.75 7.5625 45.375
71-75 5 73 365 7.75 60.0625 300.3125
66-70 3 68 204 12.75 162.5625 487.6875
61-65 2 63 126 17.75 315.0625 630.125
56-60 2 58 116 22.75 517.5625 1035.125
n=40 ∑ 𝑓𝑋𝑚
∑ 𝒇(𝑿𝒎 − ẍ)𝟐
= 3,230
= 4,447.5
ẍ = 80.75

∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− ẍ)2 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋𝑚− ẍ)2

S2= S= √
𝑛−1 𝑛−1

4,447.50 4447.5
=√
39 39

S2 = 114.04 √114.04 s = 10.68