STATISTICAL
ANALYSIS
WITH
SOFTWARE
APPLICATION
Numerical Description of Data (Measures of Variation)
A measure of variation, or
dispersion, quantifies how spread out
or varied a set of data is, with common
examples including range, variance,
and standard deviation.
Measures of Variation
Standard
Range Variance
Deviation
Range
The range is the highest value minus the lowest
value. The symbol R is used for the range.
Formula: R = highest value – lowest value
Example 1: Consider a sample with data values of 3, 5, 4, 10
and 8. Calculate the range.
Lowest value Highest value
Solution:
3, 5, 4, 10, 8
The highest value is 10 and the lowest value is 3.
Therefore, the range is
R = 10 – 3 = 7
Example 2: Find the range for the amount of European auto
sales for a sample of 6 years shown. The data are in millions of
dollars: 11.9, 13.4, 11.2, 12.0, 12.8, 14.3.
Lowest value Highest value
Solution:
11.9, 13.4, 11.2, 12.0, 12.8, 14.3
The highest value is 14.3 and the lowest value is 11.2.
Therefore, the range is
R = 14.3 – 11.2 = 3.1
Example 3: The salaries for the staff of the XYZ Manufacturing
Corp. are shown here. Find the range.
Staff Salary
Owner 500,000 Highest value
Manager 40,000
Admin. Officer 30,000
Workers 15,500 Lowest value
18,650
21,300
Solution: The range is R = 500,000 – 15,500 = 484,500.
Variance
The variance is the average of the How to find the variance:
squares of the distance each value 1. Find the sum of the values.
is from the mean. 2. Square each value and find
the sum.
3. Substitute in the formula and
The symbol for the population variance is 𝜎 2 and solve.
the symbol for the sample variance is 𝑠 2 .
𝒏 σ 𝒙𝒊 − σ 𝒙 𝒊 𝟐
Formula for sample variance: 𝒔𝟐 =
𝒏−𝟏
Standard Deviation
The standard deviation is the How to find the standard
positive square root of the variance. deviation:
Extract the square root of the
The symbol for the population standard deviation value of the variance.
is 𝜎 and the symbol for the sample standard
deviation is 𝑠.
Formula for sample stand. dev: 𝒔= 𝒔𝟐
Example 4: Consider a sample with data values of 3, 5, 4, 10 and 8.
Calculate the sample variance and standard deviation.
Solution: How to find the variance and
Step 1: Find the sum of the values. standard deviation:
σ 𝑥𝑖 = 3 + 5 + 4 + 10 + 8 = 𝟑𝟎
1. Find the sum of the values.
Step 2: Square each value and find the sum. 2. Square each value and find
σ 𝑥𝑖 2 = 32 + 52 + 42 + 102 + 82 the sum.
3. Substitute in the formula
= 9 + 25 + 16 + 100 + 64 = 𝟐𝟏𝟒 and solve.
Step 3: Substitute in the formula and solve. Formula:
𝒏 σ 𝒙𝒊 𝟐 − σ 𝒙𝒊 𝟐
𝑛 σ 𝑥𝑖 2 − σ 𝑥𝑖 2 5 214 −(30)2 1,070−900 170 𝒔𝟐 =
𝑠2 = = = = = 8.5 𝒏(𝒏 − 𝟏)
𝑛(𝑛−1) 5(4) 20 20
𝒔= 𝒔𝟐
Also, 𝑠 = 𝑠2 = 8.5 = 2.91 .
Hence, the variance is 8.5 and the standard deviation is 2.91.
Example 5: Find the sample variance and standard deviation for the
amount of European auto sales for a sample of 6 years shown. The
data are in millions of dollars: 11.9, 13.4, 11.2, 12.0, 12.8, and 14.3.
Solution:
Step 1:
σ 𝑥𝑖 = 11.9 + 13.4 + 11.2 + 12.0 + 12.8 + 14.3 = 𝟕𝟓. 𝟔
Step 2:
σ 𝑥𝑖 2 = 11.92 + 13.42 + 11.22 + 12.02 + 12.82 + 14.32 = 𝟗𝟓𝟖. 𝟗𝟒
Step 3:
2 𝑛 σ 𝑥𝑖 2 − σ 𝑥𝑖 2 6 958.94 −(75.6)2 5753.64−5715.36 138.28
𝑠 = 𝑛(𝑛−1)
= 6(6−1)
= 6(5)
= 30
= 𝟏. 𝟐𝟖
Also, 𝑠 = 𝑠2 = 1.28 = 1.13 .
Hence, the variance is 1.28 and the standard deviation is 1.13.
Software Application
Excel
Step by Step Finding Measures of Central Tendency
The data represent the population of licensed nuclear
reactors in the United States for a recent 15-year period.
Find the mean, median and mode.
104 107 109 104 109
111 104 112 112 104
109 111 104 110 109
1. On an Excel worksheet, enter a label for the
variable in cell A1 and enter the numbers in cells
A2–A16.
2. Compute the mean of the data: key in
=AVERAGE(A2:A16) in a blank cell.
3. Compute the mode of the data: key in
=MODE(A2:A16) in a blank cell.
4. Compute the median of the data: key in
=MEDIAN(A2:A16) in a blank cell.
Excel
Step by Step Finding Measures of Variation
Consider a sample with data values of 3, 5, 4, 10
and 8. Find the range, variance and standard
deviation.
1) On an Excel worksheet enter a label for the
variable in cell A1 and enter the data in cells A2–A6.
2) For the range, compute the difference between
the maximum and the minimum values by entering
=MAX(A2:A6) – MIN(A2:A6).
3) For the sample variance, enter =VAR(A2:A6).
4) For the sample standard deviation, enter
=STDEV(A2:A6).
Excel
Step by Step Finding Measures of Variation
Find the mean, range, variance, and standard
deviation of the data from Example 5. The data
represent the amount (in million $) of European
auto sales for a sample of 6 years:
11.9, 13.4, 11.2, 12.0, 12.8, 14.3.
1) On an Excel worksheet enter a label for the
variable in cell A1 and enter the data in cells
A2–A7.
2) For the range, compute the difference
between the maximum and the minimum values
by entering =MAX(A2:A7)-MIN(A2:A7).
3) For the sample variance, enter =VAR(A2:A7).
4)For the sample standard deviation, enter
=STDEV(A2:A7).
