Dispersion

A. Dispersion

The spread [ or variability] of observations from any average is known as dispersion. When the spread is
too large, then the average calculated could not be taken as a representative of the distributions. Thus
the dispersion measure is very important as far as study of distribution is concerned.
The common measures of dispersion are
1. Range
2. Standard Deviation
3. Quartile Deviation
4. Mean Deviation

Standard deviation [SD]

Standard Deviation is defined as the square root of the AM of squared deviations of

observations taken from their AM. SD is symbolically written as ‘’. For a sample, it is represented as
‘S’.

∑ ( x− x̄ )2
SD = √ n
x
This is like mean of a variable ‘x’ which is
n
Inside the square root of SD, it is mean of (x - x́ )2

∑ ( x− x̄ )2
From this S2 = n . S2 is referred to as ‘Variance’.
Hence SD is Square root of Variance


 x     x  
2 2

2  
∑x    
A useful calculation formula for SD is S = SD = √ n
− x̄ 2 
, Or S = 
n  n  
B. Coefficient of Variation [CV]

1
CV is defined as the ratio of SD to mean multiplied by 100. It is a relative measure of dispersion. It is
always presented in percentages only. Hence, comparison of distributions can be made without any
difficulty. The reason is that the unit of measurement is not given as it is given for SD and all.

σ SD
i.e., CV = x̄
×100 [ Mean
×100
]
When CV is less for a distribution compared to another, then that distribution is considered more
consistent.
CV LESS - Consistent meaning – less variability

CV more - Efficient meaning – greater variability

Examples and Exercises


 x     x  
2 2

2  
∑x    
For SD calculation use the formula SD - S = SD = √ n
− x̄ 2 
, Or S = 
n  n  

A table may be formed as follows to ease the calculation

x X2

Σx= ΣX2 =

Calculation of SD
6, 2, 3, 4, 10, 5, 8
Prepare a table as above.

2
x x²
6 36
2 4
3 9
4 16
10 100
5 25
8 64
Σx = 38 Σx² = 254
2

√
SD = S = ( 254 − 38 ) = √ ¿ ¿ = √ ¿ ¿ = √ 6.8163 = 2.6108
7 [ ] 7

Exercises.
Calculate SD [ standard deviation] of
1. 5, 7, 12, 9, 21, 8, 15, 7, 10
2. 18, 12, 21, 15, 6, 11, 13, 4
3. 9, 6, 10, 7, 9, 16, 5, 11
4. 4.0, 5.7, 3.9, 4.2, 6.6, 7.0, 7.9, 8.0, 8.9, 9.0, 10.0
5. 6, 2, 3, 4, 10, 5, 8, 11, 12

If we have a frequency distribution, then SD is calculated as

SD =
{√ ∑ ( fd2 ) − ∑ ( fd)
∑f ∑f ( )} ×c
; Where, d =
x− A
c ; ‘A’ is arbitrary value & ‘c’ class
width.
x− A
Class Mid x f d= c fd fd 2 ( = (fd)  d )

f = (fd)= (fd2) =
Example

The age distribution of a set of 100 people is as follows. Calculate the SD.
Age Class ( years ) f

3
 48 – 50 05

50 – 52 13

52 – 54 15

54 – 56 30

56 – 58 15

58 – 90 12

60 – 62 10

Total = 100

x−55
Class Mid x f d= 2 fd fd2
48 – 50 49 05 -3 -15 45
50 – 52 51 13 -2 -26 52
52 – 54 53 15 -1 -15 15
54 – 56 55 30 0 00 00
56 – 58 57 15 1 15 15
58 – 90 59 12 2 24 48
60 – 62 61 10 3 30 90

100 13 265
f = 100 fd = 13 fd2 = 265

SD =
{√ ∑ ( fd2 ) − ∑ ( fd)
∑f (
∑f )} ×c

=
{√ 265 13
−
100 100 ( ) }×2 =
 2.65  0.0169  2 = { √ 2.6331 }×2 =1.6227*2=3.2454yr
Example

4
Calculate the SD: Size 4 6 7 9 11 12
f 1 4 8 4 2 1
size (X) f fx fX 2
04 1 4 16
06 4 24 144
07 8 56 392
09 4 36 324
11 2 22 242
12 1 12 144

f = 20 fx =154 fX2 = 1262

 
  fX     ( fX ) 
2 2
   1262  154  2 
     
  f   f    20  20    63.1  59.29    = 1.9519
3.81
SD =  = = =
units
Coefficient of Variation [CV] {Relative measure of Dispersion}

BEST WAY FOR COMPARING VARIABILITY OF DISTRIBUTIONS – UNIT FREE – GIVEN IN %

Calculation of CV
Weights of children for two groups are as follows.
Group I: Kg. 20, 22. 19, 22, 23.
Group II: Kg. 18, 12, 10, 20, 15.
Compare the consistency of the weights in the two groups.
Group 1 Group 2
x x2 y y2
20 400 18 324
22 484 12 144
19 361 10 100
22 484 20 400
23 529 15 225

106 2258 75 1193

x [group 1] = 106/5 = 21.2 y [group 2] = 75/5 = 15

5
 2258 1193
 21.2 2  15 2
SD [group 1] = 5 = 1.47 SD [group 2] = 5 = 3.69
1.47 3.69
 100  100
CV for Group I = 21.2 = 6.93%; CV for Group II = 15 = 24.60%
Group 1 is more consistent because CV is less in that compared to Group 2.
[If question is ‘Compare the variability of the weights in the two groups’, Group 2 shows more variability
since CV is more for that group.]
Exercises.
Calculate the CV and compare the efficacy and consistency of the following data
1. Score of Set A: 7, 9, 8, 5, 4: Score of Set B: 6, 4, 8, 5, 3
2. Sleep hours for group A: 5, 7, 10, 3, 2; Sleep hours for group B: 6, 9, 4, 8, 7
3. Scores of Males: 7, 5, 11, 10, 9, 2; Scores of Females: 10, 8, 6, 3, 2, 4

THE ABOVE PROBLEMS ARE PREVIOUS YEAR’S QUESTION PAPERS.