Measures of Dispersion

The measure of dispersion shows the scatterings of the data. It tells the variation of the

data from one another and gives a clear idea about the distribution of the data. The
measure of dispersion shows the homogeneity or the heterogeneity of the distribution
of the observations.
Characteristics of Measures of Dispersion
• A measure of dispersion should be rigidly defined
• It must be easy to calculate and understand
• Not affected much by the fluctuations of observations
• Based on all observations
Classification of Measures of Dispersion
The measure of dispersion is categorized as:
(i) An absolute measure of dispersion:
• The measures which express the scattering of observation in terms of distances
i.e., range, quartile deviation.
• The measure which expresses the variations in terms of the average of
deviations of observations like mean deviation and standard deviation.
(ii) A relative measure of dispersion:
We use a relative measure of dispersion for comparing distributions of two or more
data set and for unit free comparison. They are the coefficient of range, the
coefficient of mean deviation, the coefficient of quartile deviation, the coefficient of
variation, and the coefficient of standard deviation.
 Range
A range is the most common and easily understandable measure of dispersion. It is
the difference between two extreme observations of the data set. If X max and X min are
the two extreme observation then
Range = X max – X min
Merits of Range
• It is the simplest of the measure of dispersion
• Easy to calculate
• Easy to understand
• Independent of change of origin
Demerits of Range
• It is based on two extreme observations. Hence, get affected by fluctuations
• A range is not a reliable measure of dispersion
• Dependent on change of scale

Quartile Deviation
Quartiles
A median divides a given dataset (which is already sorted) into two equal halves
similarly, the quartiles are used to divide a given dataset into four equal halves.
Therefore, logically there should be three quartiles for a given distribution, but if you
think about it, the second quartile is equal to the median itself! We’ll deal with the
other two quartiles in this section.
• The first quartile or the lower quartile or the 25th percentile, also denoted
by Q1, corresponds to the value that lies halfway between the median and the
lowest value in the distribution (when it is already sorted in the ascending order).
Hence, it marks the region which encloses 25% of the initial data.
• Similarly, the third quartile or the upper quartile or 75th percentile, also
denoted by Q3, corresponds to the value that lies halfway between the median
and the highest value in the distribution (when it is already sorted in the ascending
order). It, therefore, marks the region which encloses the 75% of the initial data
or 25% of the end data.

For a better understanding, look at the representation below for a Gaussian

Distribution –

The Quartile Deviation

Formally, the Quartile Deviation is equal to the half of the Inter-Quartile Range and
thus we can write it as –

Qd=Q3–Q12

Therefore, we also call it the Semi Inter-Quartile Range.

• The Quartile Deviation doesn’t take into account the extreme points of the
distribution. Thus, the dispersion or the spread of only the central 50% data is
considered.

• If the scale of the data is changed, the Qd also changes in the same ratio.

• It is the best measure of dispersion for open-ended systems (which have open-
ended extreme ranges).

• Also, it is less affected by sampling fluctuations in the dataset as compared to the

range (another measure of dispersion).

• Since it is solely dependent on the central values in the distribution, if in any

experiment, these values are abnormal or inaccurate, the result would be affected
drastically.
The Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
Based on the quartiles, a relative measure of dispersion, known as the Coefficient of
Quartile Deviation, can be defined for any distribution. It is formally defined as –
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation = Q3–Q1Q3+Q1×100

Question 1: The number of vehicles sold by a major Hyundai Showroom in a day was
recorded for 10 working days. The data is given as –
1 20
2 15
3 18
4 05
5 10
6 17
7 21
8 19
9 25
10 28
Find the Quartile Deviation and its coefficient for the given discrete distribution case.
Solution: We first need to sort the frequency data given to us before proceeding with
the quartiles calculation –

Sorted Data – 5, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28
n(number of data points) = 10

Now, to find the quartiles, we use the logic that the first quartile lies halfway between
the lowest value and the median; and the third quartile lies halfway between the
median and the largest value.

First Quartile Q1 = n+14th term.

= 10+14th term = 2.75th term
= 2nd term + 0.75 × (3rd term – 2nd term)
= 10 + 0.75 × (15 – 10)
= 10 + 3.75
= 13.75
Third Quartile Q3 = 3(n+1)4th term.
= 3(10+1)4th term = 8.25th term
= 8th term + 0.25 × (9th term – 8th term)
= 21 + 0.25 × (25 – 21)
= 21 + 1
= 22

Using the values for Q1 and Q3, now we can calculate the Quartile Deviation and
its coefficient as follows –
Quartile Deviation = Semi-Inter Quartile Range
= Q3–Q12
= 22–13.752
=8.252
= 4.125
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
= Q3–Q1Q3+Q1×100
= 22–13.7522+13.75×100
= 8.2535.75×100
≈ 23.08

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