MEASURES OF DISPERSION/VARIATION

The averages are representatives of a frequency distribution. But they fail to give a complete
picture of the distribution. They do not tell anything about the spreadness of observations within
the distribution.
Suppose we have the following three datasets A, B & C.
Dataset A 1 10 50 90 99
Dataset B 30 40 50 60 70 n=5
Dataset C 40 45 50 55 60

It can be seen that the averages of all the datasets are 50, but cannot say that their observations
are same. There is uniformity in data set C, whereas more variability in the datasets A & B.
Form the above example it is clear that measure of central tendency alone does not provide a
complete or sufficient description of data. In addition to it we should have a measure of
spreadness / variation of observations. The spreadness / variations of observations from their
average are called the dispersion. The various measures of dispersion/ variation are as follows:
Absolute Variation Relative variation
Range Coefficient of range
Inter-quartile range Coefficient of quartile deviation
Quartile deviation Coefficient of mean deviation
Mean deviation Coefficient of variation
Standard deviation
Variance

Characteristics of a good measure of dispersion

An ideal measure of dispersion is expected to possess the following properties
1. It should be rigidly defined
2. It should be based on all the observations.
3. It should not be unduly affected by extreme observations.
4. It should lend itself for algebraic manipulation.
RANGE
This is the simplest possible measure of dispersion and is defined as the difference between the
largest (L) and smallest (S) values of the variable.

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 Range = L – S

Coefficient of Range

Example1
The yields (kg / plot) of a cotton variety from five plots are 8, 9, 8, 10 and 11. Find the range and
its coefficient
Solution:
Range = L – S = 11- 8 = 3

Coefficient of Range

Example 2
Calculate range from the following distribution.
Size 60-63 63-66 66-69 69-72 72-75
Number 5 18 42 27 8

Solution: Range = L – S = 75 – 60 = 15
Merits
1. It is easy to calculate and easy to understand.
2. It is widely used problems like quality control, weather forecasts, share price analysis etc.
Demerits
1. It is very much affected by the extreme items.
2. It is based on only two extreme observations.
3. It cannot be calculated from open-end class intervals.
4. It is not suitable for mathematical treatment.

MEAN DEVIATION
The mean deviation is defined as a statistical measure which is used to calculate the average
deviation from the mean/median/mode value of the given data set.

Case-I Ungrouped/Raw data

If the variable x assumes n values then Mean deviation of x is given as:

, where A=Mean/Median/Mode

Case-II Grouped/Continuous data

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If the variable x assumes the values with their frequencies , then
Mean deviation of x is given as:

, where A=Mean/Median/Mode

Example 3
The weights of 5 packets of Chocolates are 100, 102, 118, 124, 126 grams. Find the Mean
deviation about AM.
Solution
x
100 -14 14
102 -12 12
118 4 4
124 10 10
126 12 12
570 52

grams

STANDARD DEVIATION
It is defined as the positive square-root of the arithmetic mean of the Square of the deviations of
the given observation from their arithmetic mean. The standard deviation is denoted by Greek
letter  (sigma) in case of population and s in case of sample. The square of the standard
deviation is called variance (i.e.) variance = (SD) 2 and denoted by

Case-I Ungrouped/Raw data:

If the variable x assumes n values then the standard deviation of x s given as:

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Example 4
The weights of 5 packets of Chocolates are 100, 102, 118, 124, 126 grams. Find the Standard
deviation
Solution
x x2
100 10000
102 10404
118 13924
124 15376
126 15876
570 65580

Standard deviation

Case-I Grouped/Continuous data:

If the variable x assumes the values with their frequencies , then the
 is given as:

Example 5
The frequency distributions of mar ks o f 50 st udent s out o f 10 are given below. Find the
standard deviation
Marks (x) 3 4 5 6 7
Students (f) 4 6 15 15 10

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Solution

x f fx f x2
3 4 12 36
4 6 24 96
5 15 75 375
6 15 90 540
7 10 70 490
Total N=50 = 271 1537

Example 6
The Frequency distributions of height of 50 plants are given below. Find the standard deviation.

Height in cm (C. I) 2.5-3.5 3.5-4.5 4.5-5.5 5.5-6.5 6.5-7.5

No. of plants (f) 4 6 15 15 10

Solution

C. I. f x x2 fx f x2

2.5-3.5 4 3 9 12 36
3.5-4.5 6 4 16 24 96
4.5-5.5 15 5 25 75 375
5.5-6.5 15 6 36 90 540
6.5-7.5 10 7 49 70 490
Total N= 50 25 271 1537

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Step Deviation Method:

A =assumed mean
h = width of the class interval

Example 7
The Frequency distributions of height of 50 plants are given below. Find the standard deviation.
Height in cm (C. I) 2.5-35 3.5-4.5 4.5-5.5 5.5-6.5 6.5-7.5
No. of plants (f) 4 6 15 15 10

Solution:
Class Interval f x fd f d2
A=5, h=1
2.5-3.5 4 3 -2 -8 16
3.5-4.5 6 4 -1 -6 6
4.5-5.5 15 5 0 0 0
5.5-6.5 15 6 1 15 15
6.5-7.5 10 7 2 20 40
Total N= 50 21 77

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Properties of Standard deviation:
1. Standard deviation is independent of change of origin not scale (see Step deviation
method)
2. If there are two groups containing and observations with their AM 12and standard
deviation are respectively and , then the combined standard deviation is
given as:

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION
The Standard deviation is an absolute measure of dispersion. It is expressed in terms of units in
which the original figures are collected and stated. The standard deviation of heights of plants
cannot be compared with the standard deviation of weights of the grains, as both are expressed in
different units, i.e., heights in centimeter and weights in kilograms. Therefore the standard
deviation must be converted into a relative measure of dispersion for the purpose of comparison.
The relative measure is known as the coefficient of variation. The coefficient of variation is
obtained by dividing the standard deviation by the mean and expressed in percentage.
Symbolically, Coefficient of variation (CV) given as:

If we want to compare the variability of two or more series, we can use C.V. The series or groups
of data for which the C.V is less, it indicates that the group is less variable or more stable or
more uniform or more consistent or more homogeneous.

Example 8
Consider the measurement on yield and plant height of a paddy variety. The mean and standard
deviation for yield are 50 kg and 10 kg respectively. The mean and standard deviation for plant
height are 55 cm and 5 cm respectively.

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Solution:
Here the measurements for yield and plant height are in different units. Hence the variability can
be compared only by using coefficient of variation.

For yield, CV = = 20%

For plant height, CV = = = 9.1%

The yield is subject to more variation than the plant height.

Example 9

The scores of two batsmen A and B, in the series of 6 matches are given below; determine which
batsman is more reliable /consistent?
.
Scores of A 15 12 10 20 25 10
Scores of B 15 18 16 12 10 15

Score (X) Score (Y) X2 Y2

15 16 225 256
12 18 144 324
10 16 100 256
20 12 400 144
25 10 625 100
10 15 100 225

CV(x) =

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 CV(y) =

Since, CV(y) < CV(x) So, Batsman ‘B’ is more reliable /consistent
Merits
1. It is rigidly defined and its value is always definite and based on all the observations and the
actual signs of deviations are used.
2. As it is based on arithmetic mean, it has all the merits of arithmetic mean.
3. It is the most important and widely used measure of dispersion.
4. It is possible for further algebraic treatment.
5. It is less affected by the fluctuations of sampling and hence stable.
6. It is the basis for measuring the coefficient of correlation and sampling.
Demerits
1. It is not easy to understand and it is difficult to calculate.
2. It gives more weight to extreme values because the values are squared up.
3. As it is an absolute measure of variability, it cannot be used for the purpose of comparison.

Questions
1. Which measure is affected most by the presence of extreme values?
a) Range b) Standard Deviation
b) Quartile Deviation d) Mean deviation
Ans: Standard Deviation

2. Variance is square of
a) Range b) Standard Deviation
c) Quartile Deviation d) Mean deviation
Ans: Standard Deviation

3. If the CV of variety I is 30% and variety II is 25% , then Variety II is more consistent.
Ans: True

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4. For the set of data 5, 5, 5,5,5,5 the Standard deviation value is zero.
Ans: True

5. The absolute measures of dispersion will have the original units.

Ans: True

6. The mean deviation value for a set of data can take even negative value.
Ans: False

7. Define dispersion.
8. Define C.V. What are its uses?
9. What are the differences between absolute measure and relative measure of dispersion?
10. How to calculate the standard deviation for raw and grouped data?

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