Chapter-3

Measures of Central
Tendency and Dispersion

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 1

Measures of Central Tendency

key words:
Descriptive Statistic, measure of central
tendency ,statistic, parameter, mean (μ)
,median, mode.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 2

 The Statistic and The Parameter
• A Statistic: It is a descriptive measure computed
from the data of a sample.

• A Parameter: It is a a descriptive measure

computed from the data of a population.

Since it is difficult to measure a parameter from the

population, a sample is drawn of size n, whose values are
 1 ,  2 , …,  n. From this data, we measure the statistic.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 3

Measures of Central Tendency

x
 A measure of central tendency is a measure which
indicates where the middle of thendata is.

i x
 The three most commonly used measures of central
tendency are: i 1
The Mean, the Median, and the Mode.
The Mean:
 It is the average of the data.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 4

The Population Mean:
N

 = X
i 1
i
which is usually unknown, then we use the
N
sample mean to estimate or approximate it.
The Sample Mean:
n

x =  x
i 1
i

Example: n
Here is a random sample of size 10 of ages, where
 1 = 42,  2 = 28,  3 = 28,  4 = 61,  5 = 31,
 6 = 23,  7 = 50,  8 = 34,  9 = 32,  10 = 37.

x = (42 + 28 + … + 37) / 10 = 36.6

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 5

Properties of the Mean:
• Uniqueness. For a given set of data there is one and
only one mean.

• Simplicity. It is easy to understand and to compute.

• Affected by extreme values. Since all values

enter into the computation.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 6

 Cont.
Example:
Assume the values are 115, 110, 119, 117, 121
and 126. The mean = 118.
But assume that the values are 75, 75, 80, 80
and 280.
The mean = 118, a value that is not
representative of the set of data as a whole.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 7

The Median:
When ordering the data, it is the observation that
divide the set of observations into two equal parts
such that half of the data are before it and the other
are after it.

• If n is odd, the median will be the middle of

observations.
It will be the (n+1)/2 th ordered observation.
When n = 11, then the median is the 6th
observation.
02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 8
 Cont.
• If n is even, there are two middle
observations.
• The median will be the mean of these two
middle observations.
It will be the [(n/2)th+((n/2)+1)th]/2 ordered
observation.
When n = 12, then the median is an
observation halfway between the 6th and 7th
ordered observation.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 9

Example:
For the same random sample, the ordered observations will
be as:
23, 28, 28, 31, 32, 34, 37, 42, 50, 61.
Since n = 10, then the median is the 5.5th observation, i.e. =
(32+34)/2 = 33.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 10

Properties of the Median:
• Uniqueness. For a given set of data there
is one and only one median.

• Simplicity. It is easy to calculate.

• It is not affected by extreme values

as is the mean.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 11

The Mode:
 It is the value which occurs most frequently.

 If all values are different there is no mode.

 Sometimes, there are more than one mode.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 12

 Cont.
Example:
For the same random sample, the value 28 is
repeated two times, so it is the mode.

Properties of the Mode:

• Sometimes, it is not unique.

• It may be used for describing qualitative data.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 13

 Quintiles
Quintiles
• Dividing the distribution of ordered values into
equal-sized parts
– Quartiles: 4 equal parts
– Deciles: 10 equal parts
– Percentiles: 100 equal parts

First 25% Second 25% Third 25% Fourth 25%

Q1 Q2 Q3
Q1:first quartile
Q2:second quartile = median
Q3:third quartile

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 14

Example:
Given the following data set (age of patients):-
18,59,24,42,21,23,24,32 find the third quartile

Solution:

sort the data from lowest to highest

18 21 23 24 24 32 42 59
3rd quartile = {3/4 (n+1)}th observation
= (6.75)th observation
= 32 + (42-32)x .75 = 39.5

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 15

 Measures of Dispersion

key words:
Descriptive Statistic, measure of dispersion ,
range ,variance, coefficient of variation.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 16

 Measures of Dispersion:
• A measure of dispersion conveys information regarding the
amount of variability present in a set of data.
Note:
1. If all the values are the same
→ There is no dispersion .
2. If all the values are different
→ There is a dispersion:
3.If the values close to each other
→The amount of Dispersion is small.
b) If the values are widely scattered
→ The Dispersion is greater.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 17

Measures of Dispersions
Range (R)
 Variance
 Standard deviation
 Coefficient of variation (C.V)

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 18

The Range (R):
• Range = Largest value- Smallest value

= x L  x S
• Note:
– Range concern only onto two values

– Highly sensitive to outliers

– Example:-
Data: 43,66,61,64,65,38,59,57,57,50.
• Find Range? Range=66-38=28
02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 19
 Cont.
• Inter-quartile range(IQR):

– 3rd quartile – 1st quartile (75th – 25th percentile)

– Robust to outliers

– Middle 50% of observations

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 20

 Cont.
Example:
18 21 23 24 24 32 42 59

 1st quartile = The {(n+1)/4}th observation

= (2.25)th observation
= 21 + (23-21)x .25
= 21.5
 3rd quartile = {3/4 (n+1)}th observation
= (6.75)th observation
= 32 + (42-32)x .75 = 39.5
• Hence, IQR = 39.5 - 21.5 = 18
02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 21
 Variance:
 It measure dispersion relative to the scatter of the values
about their mean.

Sample Variance ( S 2 ) :
n

 i
( x  x ) 2 ,where x is sample mean

S2  i 1

n 1

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 22

 Cont.
Example: Find Sample Variance of ages , 12, 14,
10, 8, 16.
Solution:
The mean = 12  14  10
5
 8  16
= 12

 12 12   14 12   10 12  (8 12)2  (16 12)2 ]

2 2 2

S 
2

4
40
  10
10
02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 23
Population Variance (  ) : 2
N

 i
( x   ) 2
where ,  is Population mean
2  i 1
N

The Standard Deviation:

• is the square root of variance= Varince
a) Sample Standard Deviation = S = S 2
b) Population Standard Deviation = σ =  2

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 24

 STANDARD DEVIATION SD
7 8
7 7
7 77
7 77
6
7 3 2
7 8 13
9
Mean = 7
Mean = 7 SD=0.63
SD=0

Mean = 7
SD=4.04
02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept25
of Public Health
 Standard deviation
Caution must be exercised when using standard
deviation as a comparative index of dispersion
Weights of newborn Weights of newborn
elephants (kg) mice (kg)

929 853 0.72 0.42

878 939 0.63 0.31

895 972 0.59 0.38

937 841 0.79 0.96

801 826 1.06 0.89

n=10 X =887.1 n=10 X = 0.68

sd = 56.50 sd = 0.255
Incorrect to say that elephants show greater variation for birth-
weights than mice because
02/13/2021 ofDept
MU,CHS higher
26
standard deviation
of Public Health
 Computational formulas for the sample
variance

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 27

The Coefficient of Variation (C.V):
• Is a measure use to compare the dispersion in
two sets of data which is independent of the
unit of the measurement .
• S
C .V  (100 )
X
where S: Sample standard deviation.
X : Sample mean.

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 28

 Coefficient of variance
Coefficient of variance expresses standard deviation
relative to its mean
s
cv 
X
Weights of newborn Weights of newborn
elephants (kg) mice (kg)

929 853 0.72 0.42

878 939 0.63 0.31 Mice show
895 972 0.59 0.38 greater birth-
937 841 0.79 0.96 weight
1.06 0.89 variation
801 826

n=10, X = 887.1 n=10, X = 0.68

s = 56.50 cv = 0.0637
02/13/2021
s = 0.255 cv = 0.375
MU,CHS Dept29
of Public Health
 Example:
• Suppose two samples of human males yield the
following data:
Sampe1 Sample2
Age 25-year-olds 11year-olds
Mean weight 145 pound 80 pound
Standard deviation 10 pound 10 pound

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 30

 • We wish to know which is more variable.
Solution:
• c.v (Sample1)= (10/145)*100= 6.9

• c.v (Sample2)= (10/80)*100= 12.5

• Then age of 11-years old(sample2) is more variation

02/13/2021 MU,CHS Dept of Public Health 31