LESSON 5:

MEASURES OF DISPERSION
 In this lesson, we will discuss another type of measure, which will
enable to know more about the shape` or the spread of the
distribution ( whether the group is homogeneous or heterogeneous
in terms of some aspects).This measures are called measure of
dispersion.

 Measure of Dispersion indicates the degree of spread of a given

set of data.

 They are: Range, Quartile Deviation, Mean Absolute Deviation,

Variance and Standard Deviation
A. The Range

 Range, R is the distance between the highest and the lowest values in a
distribution. It is somehow most useful to gain a quick and general idea of variability
for big distribution of scores.

 Types of range which depend on whether the data is discrete or continuous

 1. Inclusive Range are using discrete data. It is the difference between the highest
and lowest value in the distribution data.

 2. Exclusive Range are using the continuous data. It is the difference between the
upper limit of the highest value and the lower limit of the lowest value in the
distribution.

 Note : The greater the range, the more heterogeneous is the group and the more
spread is the distribution.
Illustration:

From the given distribution, Compute inclusive and exclusive range.

80 90 85 71 76 80 87 98 77 84 87 86

Inclusive Range:

R = HV - LV

= 98 - 71

= 27

Exclusive Range:

Highest Value = 98 Upper Limit = 98.5

Lowest Value = 71 Lower limit = 70.5

R = UL - LL = 98.5 - 70.5 = 28
 A. Quartile Deviation

This measure is also called a semi-

interquartile range.

QD = Q3 – Q2 / 2

Interquartile Range

IR = Q3 - Q1

 (Note: Compute Q3 and Q1 same as from previous lesson )

A. Mean Absolute Deviation ( MAD )
 The measure of the mean absolute deviation (MAD) shows the absolute
distance from the mean of the given score or value in the distribution.
 Average Deviation will increase its value as the distribution becomes more
heterogeneous and the deviations from the mean increase also.

MAD = ∑ (x - x̄ ) /n
where:
x = score / value in the given distribution

x̄ = mean of the distribution

n = no. of items in the distribution

 Mean Absolute Deviation Ungrouped Data
Example:
From the distribution given below compute MAD
x x - x̄ Ix - x̄ I
15 15 - 22.33 = -7.33 7.33
19 19 - 22.33 = -3.33 3.33
20 20 - 22.33 = -2.33 2.33
25 25 - 22.33 = 2.67 2.67
26 26 - 22.33 = 3.67 3.67
29 29 - 22.33 = 6.67 6.67
∑ = 134 ∑ = 26

x̄ = ∑x / n = 134 / 6 = 22.33
 MAD = ∑ x - x̄ / n
where:
f = frequencies if the distribution

x = class mark of every class interval in the distribution

x̄ = mean of the distribution

n = no. of items in the distribution

MAD = ∑ x - x̄ / n = 26 / 6 = 4.33 answer

 Mean Absolute Deviation Grouped Data

MAD = ∑f [x - x̄ ] / n

where:
f = frequencies if the distribution

x = class mark of every class interval in the distribution

x̄ = mean of the distribution

n = no. of items in the distribution

 Steps:

1. Find the class mark ( x ) in the distribution

2. Find the mean

3. Subtract the mean from each of the class mark in the distribution

4. Multiply each of the absolute value of differences by its corresponding class

frequency

5. Get the summation of the products

Example:

Class Interval f x fx x - x̄ I x - x̄ l f (x - x̄ )

10 - 14 2 12 24 12 – 23 = - 11 11 22

15 - 19 3 17 51 17 – 23 = - 6 6 18

20 - 24 18 22 396 22 – 23 = - 1 1 18

25 - 29 10 27 270 27 – 23 = 4 4 40

30 - 34 2 32 64 32 – 23 = 9 9 18

∑ = 35 ∑fx = 805 ∑ = 116

 x̄ = ∑fx = 805 / 35 = 23
n
Solving for MAD :

∑f [ x - x̄]
MAD = -------------
n

= 116 / 35

MAD = 3.31
A. Standard Deviation (SD )
Standard deviation is considered the most reliable and important measure of spread
because it is affected by the value of each observation. It is the most stable
measure of spread. Use in inferences.

 Standard Deviation of Ungrouped Data

S = √ (∑ x - x̄ ) 2
n-1

where : x = a value in a given set of data

x̄ = mean of the given data

n = no. of items in a given data

Example:

Consider the following data:

15 19 20 25 26 29 n = 6 ; ∑x = 134

Solution:
Determine the mean of the given data.

x̄ = ∑x = 134 / 6 = 22.33
n
 Solving for Standard Deviation
x x - x̄ (x - x̄ ) 2
15 15 - 22.33 = - 7.33 (7.33) 2 = 53.73
19 19 - 22.33 = - 3.33 ( - 3.33 )2 = 11.09
20 20 - 22.33 = - 2.33 ( - 2.33 )2 = 5.43
25 25 - 22.33 = 2.67 (2.67) 2 = 7.13
26 26 - 22.33 = 3.67 (3.67 )2 = 13.47
29 29 - 22.33 = 6.67 (6.67)2 = 44.49
∑= 134 ∑ = 135.34

SD = √ (∑ x - x̄ ) 2
n-1

SD = √ 135.34 = √ 27.10 = 5.20

6 - 1
 Standard Deviation of Grouped Data

SD = √ ∑ f ( x - x̄ ) 2
n-1

where : f = class frequency in the given data

x = class mark of each class interval

x̄ = mean value if the given data

n = no. of items in the given data

 Example:

Class Interval f x fx x - x̄ ( x - x̄ ) 2 f (x - x̄ ) 2

10 - 14 2 12 24 12 – 23 = - 11 121 242

15 - 19 3 17 51 17 – 23 = - 6 36 108

20 - 24 18 22 396 22 – 23 = - 1 1 18

25 - 29 10 27 270 27 – 23 = 4 16 160

30 - 34 2 32 64 32 – 23 = 9 81 162

n = 35 805 690
Solution :

SD = √ ∑ f ( x - x̄ ) 2
n–1
SD = √ 690 / 35 – 1 = √ 690 / 34 = √ 20.29
SD = 4.50

E. Variance ( s2 )
s2 = ∑ f ( x - x̄ ) 2 S2 = (4.5)2 S2 = 20.25
N

The variance is a statistic closely related to standard deviation.

It is the mean of the squared deviations from the mean .
It is an important measure for dispersion.