MEASURES OF DISPERSION

Dispersion is the measure of the variation of the items.

Objective of measures of dispersion

1) To judge the reliability of measures of central tendency.
2)To make a comparative study of the variability of two series.
3) To identify the causes of variability with a view to control.
4) To serve as a basis for further statistical analysis.

Properties of good Measure of Dispersion

The properties of good measure of dispersion are the same as the properties of a good
measure of central tendency. Some are mentioned below:
1)It should be rigidly defined.
2)It should be based on all the observations of the series.
3) It should be capable of further algebraic treatment.
4)It should not be unduly affected by extreme values.
Different Measures of Dispersion

Measures of Dispersion (or variability)

a)Absolute Measures: Dispersion is expressed in terms of the original units of the series .
(Example dispersion of series relating to income of a group is expressed in terms of rupees,
the same unit as in original data.) Absolute measures of Dispersion are as follows:
 Range
 Inter-quartile range
 Quartile Deviation
 Mean Deviation
 Standard Deviation
 Lorenz Curve
b) Relative Measure: Dispersion is measured as a percentage , or a ratio of the average.
Relative measures of dispersion are as follows:
 Coefficient of Range
 Coefficient of mean deviation
 Coefficient of quartile deviation
 Coefficient of variation
RANGE
It is the simplest measure of dispersion. It is the difference between largest and
the smallest value in the series. Symbolically,
RANGE = L-S
Where L is the largest value and S is the smallest value in the series.
In case of continuous series , range is calculated by subtracting the lower limit
of the lowest class from upper limit of the highest class

Coefficient of Range: Since range is a relative measure of dispersion, which

cannot be used for comparing two distribution expressed in different unit. This
difficulty is overcome by using a relative measure.
If the range is divided be the sum of the extreme items the resulting figure is
called “ coefficient of range”. Symbolically,
Coefficient of Range = L-S / L+S
= ABSOLUTE RANGE / SUM OF THE EXTREME VALUES
 EXAMPLE
The profit of a company for last eight years are given below. Calculate the range and its Coefficient.

Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Profit(in ‘000’) 40 30 80 100 120 90 200 230
Solution:
Here L =230 and S= 30
Range = L-S = 230-30 =200
Coefficient of Range= L-S / L+S = 230-30 / 230+30 = 200/ 260 = 0.77

Merit:
Simple concept

East to calculate

Demerits :
All observations are not considered.

Affected greatly by fluctuations in sampling and extreme values.

Cannot be used in case of open ended distribution

Quartile Deviation

Inter Quartile Range (IR): = Q3-Q1 (Difference between third Quartile and
first quartile)
Semi Inter-Quartile Range or Quartile Deviation(QD)
= (Q3-Q1)/ 2
Quartile Deviation is an absolute measure of dispersion
And as such is not useful if we need to compare two distributions with
different units.
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation = (Q3-Q1)/(Q3+Q1)
Example:
Find the Quartile Deviation And its Coefficient from the following data
relating to the daily wages of seven workers.

Daily Wages 50 70 80 60 65 40 90
 We need to arrange the wages in ascending order as below

Daily wages: 40,50,60,65,70,80,90

Q1= the value of (N+1)/4 th item or
(7+1)/4 or 2nd item =50
Q3 =the value of 3(N+1)/4 th item or
3(7+1)/4 or 6th item =80
Quartile deviation = (Q3 – Q1)/2
= (80-50)/2 = 30/2 = 15
Coefficient of Quartile deviation = (Q3-Q1)/Q3+Q1
=30/130 =0.23
Discrete Series
Calculate the Quartile Deviation and its Coefficient from the following data

Weight(Ibs) 120 122 124 126 130 140 150 160

No. of students 1 3 5 7 10 2 1 1
 SOLUTION
Q1= the value of (N+1)/4 th item or (31+1)/4 th item or 8 th item =124 Ibs
Q3= the value of 3 (N+1)/4 or
3(31+1)/4th item or 24th item= 130 Ibs
Quartile Deviation = (Q3-Q1)/2
=(130-124)/2
= 6/2 =3Ibs
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation = (Q3-Q1)/Q3+Q1
=6/254
= 0.0236
Continuous Series
Calculate the semi inter-Quartile Deviation and Coefficient of Quartile Deviation from
the following data

Mark 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
no. of 11 18 25 28 33 30 22 15 22
stude
nts
Solution

Q1= the value of [N/4]th item or [204/4]th item

Or 51st item which is in 20-30 group
Q3= the value of 3[N/4]th item or 3[204/4]th item
Or 153rd item which is in 60-70 group
The value of Q1 = 28.80
The value of Q3= 63.64
Now ; sQuartile Deviation = (Q3-Q1)/2 = (63.64- 28.80)/2
= 34.84/2 = 17.42 marks
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation = (Q3-Q1)/Q3+Q1
= 34.84/92.44=0.37

marks 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90
No. of 11 18 25 28 30 33 22 15 22
students
Cf 11 29 54 82 112 145 167 182 204