STANDARD DEVIATION

Definition
Standard deviation is a measure of dispersement in statistics. “Dispersement” tells you how much
your data is spread out. As the term implies, a standard deviation is a standard (or typical) amount
of deviation (or distance) from the average (or mean, as statisticians like to call it). So the standard
deviation, in very rough terms, is the average distance from the mean.

What Does it Look Like on a Graph?

The bell curve (what statisticians call a “normal distribution“) is commonly seen in statistics as a
tool to understand standard deviation.
The following graph of a normal distribution represents a great deal of data in real life. The mean,
or average, is represented by the Greek letter μ, in the center. Each segment (colored in dark blue to
light blue) represents one standard deviation away from the mean. For example, 2σ means two
standard deviations from the mean.

Real Life Example

A normal distribution curve can represent hundreds of situations in real life. Have you ever noticed
in class that most students gets a grade 2.0 while a few get a grade of 1.0 or 5.0? That can be
modeled with a bell curve. People’s weights, heights, nutrition habits and exercise regimens can also
be modeled with graphs similar to this one. That knowledge enables companies, schools and
governments to make predictions about future behavior. For behaviors that fit this type of bell
curve you’ll be able to predict that 34.1 + 34.1 = 68.2% of students will score very close to the
average score, or one standard deviation away from the mean.

What Does it Actually Mean?

It tells you how tightly your data is clustered around the mean. When the bell curve is flattened
(your data is spread out), you have a large standard deviation — your data is further away from
the mean. When the bell curve is very steep, your data has a small standard deviation — your data
is tightly clustered around the mean. For example, the graph on the left might represent an
abnormally high number of students getting scores close to the average, while the graph on the
right represents more students getting scores away from the average.

What is the Standard Deviation Symbol?

Which symbol you use depends on if you have a sample or a population:
 The symbol for a sample is s.
 The symbol for a population is σ
The formula to find the sample standard deviation, s is:

The sample standard deviation is used as an estimator of the population standard deviation. The
sample standard deviation is the square root of the sample variance.

The formula to find the population standard deviation, s is:

As mention earlier, the sample standard deviation is the square root of the sample variance.
Likewise, the population standard deviation is the square root of the population variance. Although
the use of ‘n’ is logical, it tends to underestimate the population variance. The use of (n-1) in the
denominator provides the appropriate correction for this tendency.
ILLUSTRATION:

Two classes took a recent quiz. There were 10 students in each class, and each class had an average score
of 81.5
0

Since the averages are the same, can we assume that the students in both classes all did pretty much the
same on the exam?
 QUARTILE DEVIATION
Quantiles – are the extensions of the median concept because they are values which divide a set
into equal parts.
a. Median – divides the distribution into two equal parts
b. Quartile – divides the distribution into four equal parts
c. Decile - divides the distribution into ten equal parts
d. Percentile - divides the distribution into one hundred equal parts

Quartiles – are values in a given set of distribution that divide the date into four equal parts . Each
set of scores has three quartiles. These values can be denoted by Q1, Q2, Q3.
 First Quartile – Q1 (lower quartile) – the middle number between the smallest number and
the median of the data set (25th percentile)
 Second Quartile – Q2 – the median of the data that separates the lower and upper quartile
(50th percentile)
 Third Quartile – Q3 (upper quartile) – the middle value between the median and the
highest value of the data set (75th percentile)
The difference between the upper and lower quartiles are called the Interquartile Range.
IQR = Q3 – Q1

Quartile Deviation or Semi-interquartile range is one-half the difference between the first and
third quartile.
QD = (Q3 – Q1)
2

Quartile Deviation is a measure of the spread through the middle half of a distribution. It can be
useful because it is not influenced by extremely high or extremely low scores. Quartile Deviation is
an ordinal statistic and is most often used in conjunction with the median. Thus, quartile deviation
gives the average amount by which two quartiles differ from median.

Getting the Quartile Deviation from Ungrouped Data

In getting the quartile deviation from ungrouped data, the following steps are used in getting the
quartiles:
1. Arrange the data from highest to lowest
2. Determine the first quartile (Q1). To be able to locate Q1 divide N+1 by 4.
3. Determine the third quartile (Q3) by dividing 3N+1 by 4.
4. Compute the interquartile range by subtracting Q1 from Q3.
5. Divide the interquartile range into two.
Illustration:
Given Data:

Solution:
Arrange the series in ascending order. N = 11

3 4 7 9 11 14 17 20 22 24 27

Getting the Quartile Deviation from Grouped Data

In getting the quartile deviation from ungrouped data, the following steps are used in getting the
quartiles:
1. Cumulate the frequencies from the bottom to the top of the grouped frequency distribution.
2. For the first quartile, use the formula :

Q1 = L1 + (N ÷ 4) – c.f. × i
f
Where: L1 = exact lower limit of the Q1 class
N/4 = locator of the Q1 class
N = total number of data
cf = cumulative frequency below the Q1 class
i = class interval/size
3. For the third quartile, use the formula:

Q3 = L1 + (3N ÷ 4) – c.f. × i
f
Illustration:

Given Data:

Solution:

C.I f C.f.

0-10 8 8

10-20 16 24

20-30 22 46

30-40 30 76

40-50 24 100

50-60 12 112

60-70 6 118

N = 118

References:
https://statistics.laerd.com/statistical-guides/measures-of-spread-standard-deviation.php
http://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/standard-deviation/
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/dispersion/how-to-calculate-inter-quartile-range-
explained/2523
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEXwT9LRrcw
https://www.slideshare.net/christiangleph/quartile-deviation
Basic Statistics for Business Economics 5th Edition by Douglas A. Lind, William G. Marchal and
Samuel A. Wathen
Statistics Explained 3rd Edition by Perry Hinton