Chapter 5: Measures of Variability

The Importance of Measuring Variability IQV (Index of Qualitative Variation) 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

Index of Qualitative Variation

IQV A measure of variability for nominal variables. It is based on the ratio of the total number of differences in the distribution to the maximum number of possible differences within the same distribution. IQV = K (1002 - f 2)
1002 (K-1)
Where: K= the number of categories N= the total number of cases in the distribution f 2= the sum of all squared frequencies or percentages
Chapter 5 4

Understanding the Index of Qualitative Variation

The IQV is a single number that expresses the diversity of a distribution. The IQV ranges from 0 to 1 An IQV of 0 would indicate that the distribution has NO diversity at all. An IQV of 1 would indicate that the distribution is maximally diverse.

Chapter 5 5

IQV in Real Life: Diversity in the U.S.

State Hawaii California New Mexico New York Texas Maryland Georgia Mississippi Louisiana New Jersey Florida South Carolina Illinois Nevada Arizona Alaska Virginia IQV 0.82 0.72 0.68 0.67 0.66 0.65 0.63 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.60 0.59 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.58 0.56 State North Carolina Alabama Delaware Oklahoma Colorado Connecticut Arkansas Michigan Tennessee Washington Massachusetts Rhode Island Kansas Pennsylvania Missouri Ohio Oregon IQV 0.56 0.54 0.53 0.48 0.46 0.46 0.43 0.43 0.42 0.41 0.38 0.38 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34 0.33 State Utah Indiana Wisconsin Nebraska South Dakota Minnesota Idaho Kentucky Wyoming Montana North Dakota Iowa West Virginia New Hampshire Vermont Maine IQV 0.30 0.30 0.28 0.28 0.26 0.26 0.25 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.18 0.17 0.12 0.11 0.07 0.07
Chapter 5 6

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 7

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 Q3 = 75th percentile Q1 = 25th percentile
Chapter 5 8

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 9

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.)
Maximum Q3

Range

IQR

Median

Q1 Minimum
Chapter 5 10

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

s
2 Y

(Y Y )
N 1

Chapter 5 11

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

sy s
2 Y

(Y Y )
N 1

Chapter 5 12

Find the Mean and the Standard Deviation

Chapter 5 13

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 14