Measures of Skewness

and Kurtosis
Relying solely on a measure of central tendency
and a measure of dispersion in figuring out the
behavior of a data set may sometimes be
misleading.
Consider the following data sets.

Group A: 0 50 50 50 100
100 100 100 100 100

Group B: 25 30 50 50 75
75 100 100 120 125
7

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125
Measures of Skewness and Kurtosis

describe the shape of the histogram or the graph of the

relative frequency distribution of the data set
 If it is possible to divide the histogram at the center
into two identical halves, wherein each half is a mirror
image of the other, then the distribution is called a
symmetric distribution. Otherwise, it is called a skewed
distribution.
14

12

10

0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

14

12

10

0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
 Positively skewed (skewed to the right)
 concentration of the values is at the left-end of the distribution
 upper tail of distribution stretches out more than the lower tail

 Negatively skewed (skewed to the left)

 concentration of the values is the right-end of the distribution
 lower tail of distribution stretches out more than the upper tail
 In skewed distributions, the long tail in one direction is
the effect of the presence of a few atypical elements
in the collection whose measurements are much
higher (for positively skewed) or much lower (for
negatively skewed) compared to the many other
measurements in the collection.
In general, the skewness od the distribution does not
affect the median as much as the mean. Skewness has a
stronger influence on the mean because it pulls the mean
towards the direction of its long tail.
 Single value that indicates the degree and direction of
asymmetry

 detection
 type of skewness
 degree of skewness
 Interpretation

𝑆𝑘 = 0 → symmetric distribution

𝑆𝑘 > 0 → positively skewed distribution

𝑆𝑘 < 0 → negatively skewed distribution

Common Measures of Skewness

 Pearson’s First Coefficient of Skewness

X − Mo
𝑆𝑘1 =
𝑠

 Pearson’s Second Coefficient of Skewness

3(X − Md)
𝑆𝑘2 =
𝑠
Common Measures of Skewness

 Population Coefficient of Skewness based on the Third

Moment

𝑁 3
𝑖=1 Xi − 𝜇
𝜇3 𝑁
3
=
𝜎 𝜎3

 Sample Coefficient of Skewness based on the Third

Moment
𝑚3
𝑆𝑘3 = 3
𝑚2
Common Measures of Skewness

 Coefficient of Skewness based on the quartiles

𝑄3 − 𝑀𝑑 − (𝑀𝑑 − 𝑄1 ) 𝑄1 + 𝑄3 − 2𝑀𝑑
𝑆𝑘4 = =
𝑄3 − 𝑄1 𝑄3 − 𝑄1
• “kurtos”— Greek for convex

 used to describe the shape of the hump of a relative

frequency distribution as compared to the normal
distribution
 Mesokurtic – hump is the same as the normal curve;
neither too flat nor too peaked

 Leptokurtic – curve is more peaked; hump is narrower

and sharper than the normal curve

 Platykurtic – curve is less peaked; hump is flatter than

the normal
 Frequency Polygon of Final Grades
of Stat 101 students
70

60

50
Number of Students

40

30

20

10

0
34.5 44.5 54.5 64.5 74.5 84.5 94.5 104.5
Grades