Module 7

Coefficient of
Variation and
Skewness
(Grouped Data)

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson the students are expected to:

1. express the standard of deviation as a percentage of the mean;
2. compare two distributions with different means and standard deviations;
3. compute for the coefficient of variation to express them in the same unitin terms of
percentage;
4. quantify the skewness of a given data set; and
5. interpret the value of one data set as compared to other data set in terms of variability.
COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION (Grouped Data)
𝑆
As discussed on ungrouped data, the coefficient of variation is defined as 𝐶𝑉 = ,where s
𝑥̅
denotes the standard deviation and 𝑥̅ is the mean of the distribution.
𝑆
In order to express the coefficient of variation as a percentage, we multiply (for the
𝑥̅
sample) by 100.

Example: A survey of 50 selected hospitals showed the following number of days it took to
receive a shipment of medical supplies from the day it was ordered. Find the
coefficient of variation.

Days Hospital A Hospital B

5–9 9 8
10 – 14 12 13
15 – 19 14 15
20 – 24 10 12
25 – 29 5 2

Solution: Hospital A 𝑥̅ =16 𝑠 = 6.23

𝑆
𝐶𝑉 = (100)
𝑥̅

6.23
= (100) = 38.9%
16

Hospital B 𝑥̅ = 15.7 𝑠 = 5.61

𝑆
𝐶𝑉 = (100)
𝑥̅

5.61
= (100) = 35.7%
15.7

The number of days it took Hospital A to receive a shipment of medical supplies from the
day it was ordered is more varied than Hospital B.

Business Statistics
Name: ______________________________________________ Date: __________________

Section: ______________ Professor: ________________________ Score: _____________

Activity 1

The average production of 60 employees of a manufacturing company during a week is

presented below. Determine the coefficient of variation.

Average Production Number of Employees Number of Employees

61-65 2 3
66-70 8 7
71-75 11 12
76-80 17 19
81-85 12 11
86-90 6 5
91-95 4 3
60 60

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COEFFICIENT OF SKEWNESS (Grouped Data)

Skewness is the degree of symmetry, or departures from symmetry of a set of data. If the
values of the mean, median and mode are not the same, the curve or distribution is skewed. When
the values of the mean, median and mode are equal, the distribution is called normal or
symmetrical distribution. The curve is usually called normal or bell-shaped curve and it has zero
skewness. Both for the ungrouped and grouped data formula for the computation of the
coefficient of skewness is:
3(𝑥̅ −𝑥̃)
sk=
𝑠

where: 𝑠𝑘 = skewness
𝑥̅ = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛
𝑥̃ = 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛
𝑠 = 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Example: Given the following data, solve for the coefficient of skewness.

The result of a 50-item assessment administered to 50 employees at the Bank of

Commerce is presented on the table below.

Scores Frequency (f)

21-25 1
26-30 3
31-35 7
36-40 16
41-45 13
46-50 10
∑ 𝑓=50

Given: 𝑥̅ = 39.7 𝑥̃ = 39.875 𝑠 =38.38

3(𝑥̅ −𝑥̃)
Solution: 𝑠𝑘 =
𝑠

3(39.7−39.875)
=
38.38

= −𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟑𝟕

Business Statistics
Name: ______________________________________________ Date: __________________

Section: ______________ Professor: ________________________ Score: _____________

Activity 2

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION AND SKEWNESS

The following is weight distribution of 40 employees. Compute and describe the skewness

Weight Number of Employees

52 – 54 2
55 – 57 4
58 – 60 8
61 – 63 11
64 – 66 6
67 – 69 7
70 – 72 2

Business Statistics
Name: ______________________________________________ Date: __________________

Section: ______________ Professor: ________________________ Score: _____________

Activity 3

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION AND SKEWNESS

The table below shows the scores obtained by 80 applicants for a secretarial position in two
manufacturing companies.

Scores Frequency (Company A) frequency (Company B)

10 – 18 2 3
19 – 27 3 6
28 – 36 1 2
37 – 45 7 10
46 – 54 22 5
55 – 63 15 24
64 – 72 18 12
73 – 81 9 8
82 – 90 3 10

Compute for the following:

a. Mean of Company A
b. Mean of Company B
c. Median of Company A
d. Median of Company B
e. Standard Deviation of Company A
f. Standard Deviation of Company B
g. Coefficient of Variation of the two companies
h. Coefficient of Skewness of the two companies
i. Describe the type of distribution according to skewness

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REFERENCES

Sirug, W. S. (2018), Introduction to Business Statistics

Blay, B. E. (2013), Elementary Statistics
https://www.zcalculator.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aztcS-3MwHO&features

Business Statistics