Measures of

Variability

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Consider the two sets of data below.

Set A
25, 28, 28, 30, 30, 33, 35, 40, 41, 45
Set B
10, 15, 23, 28, 28, 30, 39, 45, 52, 65

They have the same mean (33.5) but Set

A is more homogeneous than Set B.

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Range

The range of a set of data is the

difference between the largest and smallest
number in the set.

Example:
In Set A, the range is 45 – 25 = 20.
In Set B, the range is 65 – 10 = 55.

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4
 Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
Ungrouped Data

 xi  x
MAD 
N
Where

 xi = score
x = mean of the scores
N = total number of scores


5
Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
Grouped Data

MAD 

 f X X 
N
Where

X = class mark
 X = mean
f = frequency
N = total number of cases

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Population Variance
Ungrouped Data

Given the finite population x1, x2, …, xN,

the population variance is
N
 x i  
2

2  i 1
N


7
Sample Variance
Given a random sample x1, x2, …, xn, the
sample variance is

 
n 2
 xi  x
2
Biased estimator: s  i1
n

 
n 2
 xi  x
2

Unbiased estimator: s  i1
n 1

8
Sample Standard Deviation

 
n 2
 xi  x
s i 1
n 1



9
 Computational Formula for the Sample Variance
(unbiased)

 
2 2
2
n x   x
s 
nn 1



10
 Example:
Set A
25, 28, 28, 30, 30, 33, 35, 40, 41, 45
We have x  33.5 , n  10
10
 xi  33.5
2

25  33.5  ... 45  33.5

2 2

s 
2 i 1

 10  1 9

s 2  43
 s 7

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 Example:
Set B
10, 15, 23, 28, 28, 30, 39, 45, 52, 65

We have x  33.5 , n  10

10
 xi  33.5
2

10  33.5  ... 65  33.5

2 2
2
 i 1

s 10  1 9

s  287 and s  17
2


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 Sample Variance from Grouped Data

  
n 2
 f xi  x
2
s  i1
n
where
f = frequency
x = class mark
 x = mean
n = total number of observations


13
 Computational Formula for the Sample Variance
from Grouped Data

 
2 2
2
n f x   f x
s  2
n
where
f = frequency
x = class mark
 n = total number of observations

14
Measure of Relative Variation
To compare the variability of data sets
measured in different units, we use the
measure of relative variation called coefficient
of variation. This index expresses the standard
deviation as a percentage relative to the mean.
It’s value is given by

s
C .V .   100%
x

15
Example:
Determine which data set is more spread
out.

16
 We first compute the means and standard
deviations of the sets of data.

Data Set 1:
x  24 years and s  3.742 years

Data Set 2 :
x  P 8875 and s  P 2267.984



17
 So, we have

Data Set 1:
s 3.742 years
C.V .   100%   100%  15.59%
x 24 years
Data Set 2 :
s P 2267.984
C.V .   100%   100%  25.55%
 x P 8875
Therefore, net take home pay is more scattered wrt the
mean than years of teaching experience of teachers.


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Measure of Skewness and Kurtosis

Skewness is a measure of the degree of

asymmetry of a distribution.
If the left tail (tail at small end of the
distribution) is more pronounced than the right
tail (tail at the large end of the distribution), the
function is said to have negative skewness.
If the reverse is true, it has positive
skewness. If the two are equal, it has zero
skewness.

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Computing for Skewness

20
 Kurtosis is a measure of the
“tailedness” of the probability distribution.
A standard normal distribution has
kurtosis of 3 and is recognized as mesokurtic.
An increased kurtosis (>3) can be visualized as
a thin “bell” with a high peak whereas a
decreased kurtosis corresponds to a
broadening of the peak and “thickening” of
the tails. Kurtosis >3 is recognized as
leptokurtic and <3 as platykurtic (lepto=thin;
platy=broad).

21
Computing for Kurtosis

22
Illustration on Kurtosis

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