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Chapter 5

This document discusses different measures of variability that can be used to describe the diversity or spread of data distributions. It introduces key measures like range, interquartile range (IQR), variance, and standard deviation. Range is the highest score minus the lowest score, while IQR describes the middle 50% of scores. Variance and standard deviation are more sophisticated measures that take into account deviations from the mean. The document advises choosing a measure based on the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval/ratio), with standard deviation providing the most information for interval/ratio variables.

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88 views11 pages

Chapter 5

This document discusses different measures of variability that can be used to describe the diversity or spread of data distributions. It introduces key measures like range, interquartile range (IQR), variance, and standard deviation. Range is the highest score minus the lowest score, while IQR describes the middle 50% of scores. Variance and standard deviation are more sophisticated measures that take into account deviations from the mean. The document advises choosing a measure based on the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval/ratio), with standard deviation providing the most information for interval/ratio variables.

Uploaded by

Mrcharming Jadraque
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 5:

Measures of Variability
The Importance of Measuring
Variability
The Range
IQR (Inter-Quartile Range)
Variance
Standard Deviation
Considerations for choosing a measure
of variation
Chapter 5 1

The Importance of
Measuring Variability
Central tendency - Numbers that describe
what is typical or average (central) in a
distribution
Measures of Variability - Numbers that
describe diversity or variability in the
distribution.
These two types of measures together help us to sum up a
distribution of scores without looking at each and every
score. Measures of central tendency tell you about typical (or
central) scores. Measures of variation reveal how far from
the typical or central score that the distribution tends to vary.

Chapter 5 2

Notice that both distributions have the same mean,


yet they are shaped differently

Chapter 5 3

The Range
Range = highest score - lowest score
Range A measure of variation in interval-ratio
variables. It is the difference between the highest
(maximum) and the lowest (minimum) scores in
the distribution.

Chapter 5 4

Inter-Quartile Range
Inter-Quartile Range (IQR) A measure of
variation for interval-ratio data. It indicates the
width of the middle 50 percent of the distribution
and is defined as the difference between the
lower and upper quartiles (Q1 and Q3.)
IQR = Q3 Q1

Chapter 5 5

The difference between the


Range and IQR
These
values
fall
together
closely

Shows
greater
variability

Importance
of the IQR
Yet the ranges
are equal!
Chapter 5 6

The Box Plot


The Box Plot is a graphic device that visually
presents the following elements: the range, the IQR,
the median, the quartiles, the minimum (lowest
value,) and the maximum (highest value.)
M a x im u m
Q 3

R ange

IQ R

M e d ia n

Q 1
M in im u m
Chapter 5 7

Variance
Variance A measure of variation for
interval-ratio variables; it is the average of
the squared deviations from the mean
2

s
2
Y

(Y Y )
N 1

Chapter 5 8

Standard Deviation
Standard Deviation A measure of variation for
interval-ratio variables; it is equal to the square
root of the variance.
2

s s
2
Y

(Y Y )
N 1

Chapter 5 9

Find the Mean and the


Standard Deviation

Chapter 5 10

Considerations for Choosing a


Measure of Variability
For nominal variables, you can only use IQV (Index
of Qualitative Variation.)
For ordinal variables, you can calculate the IQV or
the IQR (Inter-Quartile Range.) Though, the IQR
provides more information about the variable.
For interval-ratio variables, you can use IQV, IQR,
or variance/standard deviation. The standard
deviation (also variance) provides the most
information, since it uses all of the values in the
distribution in its calculation.
Chapter 5 11

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