How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 1

How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability: The Range, Variance, and

Standard Deviation

Objective: Learn how to compute and interpret measures of variability; the range,

standard deviation and variance.

Keywords and Concepts

1. Measures of Variability 11. Population data

2. Range 12. Number of subjects (N) minus 1

3. Variance (N-1)

4. Standard Deviation (SD) 13. Mean squared deviation

5. Variation 14. Shortcut formula

6. Spread of scores in any 15. Definitional formula

distribution 16. 68-95-99 Rule

7. Variation of scores about the 17. 68% of all scores fall within ±1 SD

mean of the mean

8. Root mean squared deviation 18. 95% of all scores fall within ±2 SD

9. Rounding-off rule of the mean

10. Sample data 19. 99.7% of all scores fall within ±3

SD of the mean

In measurement and statistics, the term variation refers to an amount that scores

vary among themselves. Scores in a distribution relatively close together exhibit low

measures of variation, while scores spread farther apart exhibit larger variation. The

three main quantitative measures of variation are range, variance, and standard

deviation.

Range
How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 2

The range of a set of scores equals the difference between the highest and lowest

value.

Range = highest score - lowest score

Example

Compute the range for the following set of data: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Range = highest score - lowest score

=5-1

=4

Interpretation

The range computes easily and gives a rough estimate of the spread of scores in

any distribution. However, the range depends on only two scores (the highest and

lowest) and therefore is subject to instability from one or two extreme scores.

Standard Deviation (SD) and Variance (SD 2)

The standard deviation (SD) represents the most often used measure of

variability. Unlike the range that includes only two scores in its computation, the

standard deviation incorporates every score.

Definition

The standard deviation measures the variation of scores about the mean (average)

score, and can be defined as the “root mean squared deviation.”

A Note About Terminology and Rounding-Of

Computing the SD differs slightly depending on whether the

data constitute a sample (set of data taken from a

population) or a population. Sample computations use the

How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 3

number of subjects (N) minus 1 (N-1) in all calculations: N

alone is used for population data. From a practical

standpoint, when the number of data points ≥30 either can

be used with little quantitative difference.

For all calculations, carry one more decimal place than

present in the original data, and only round final answers

and not intermediate values. If it is necessary to round

intermediate results, carry the score at least twice as many

decimal places as used in the final answer.

Calculations: Definitional Formula

The definitional formula, “root mean squared deviation” computes as follows:

SD =
− (X − X) 2

where X equals the raw score, X equals the mean of the data, and N (or N - 1) equals

the number of scores.

Each deviation score (X - X ), represents the difference between a score (X) and

the mean of all of the scores ( X ). The average of the deviations is represented by ∑(X -

X ) ÷ N or ( ∑ ( X − X ) N ), and always equals zero because, by definition, an equal

amount of deviation occurs above and below the mean.

Squaring the deviations (X - X )2 eliminates all negative numbers. The average

(mean) squared deviations about the mean (∑ (X - X ) ÷ N) is termed the variance and

expresses the average squared deviation of a given X-score from the mean. This variance

score, (the mean squared deviation) represents an often-used measure of the average

spread of scores about the mean.

How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 4

The square root (√) of the variance is the standard deviation (SD). It expresses the

variance in the original units of measurement, since the square root “corrects” for the

squaring of the deviations.

SD =
− (X − X) 2

Example: Definitional Formula Calculations of SD

Refer to Table 1.

Step 1: Find the mean of the scores in column 1.

− 15 = 3
N

Step 2: Subtract the mean from each individual score (X - X )

See Column 2

Step 3: Square each of the scores in column 2 (multiply each value by itself). This

produces numbers of the form (X- X )2.

See Column 3

Step 4: Sum scores in column 3, <gs>(X - X )2.

∑(X- X )2 = 10

Step 5: Divide the total from Step 4 by the total number of scores (N). This is the

variance (mean squared deviation).

∑(X- X )2 ÷ N = 10 ÷ 5 = 2

Step 6: Compute SD (root mean squared deviation) by taking the square root of

the result in Step 5.

SD =
− (X − X) 2

N
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Table 1. Computation of the standard deviation using the

definitional formula
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
raw score x x– X (x – X )2
1 1– 3 = -2 (– 2)2 = 4
2 2 – 3 = -1 (– 1) 2 = 1
3 3– 3 = 0 (0) 2 = 0
4 4–3=1 (1) 2 = 1
5 5–3=2 (2) 2 = 4
∑x = 15 ∑ (x– Mean) = 0 ∑ (x – Mean)2 = 10
∑x/n = 3 ∑ (x – X )2/n = 2
[Mean of raw [Mean square
scores X ] deviation]
SD = Root Mean Squared Deviation
SD = √Mean Square Deviation
SD = √2
SD = 1.41
SD = 1.412 = 2.0
2

Shortcut Method for Computing SD

With many data points, or when putting data into a spreadsheet, the SD

definitional formula becomes cumbersome. The shortcut method to compute SD

requires only three memory registers [in a calculator] (N, ∑X, and ∑X2), instead of a

separate memory register for every individual score. Also, the shortcut method

eliminates intermediate rounding errors created when the deviations of scores about the

mean are not integers. The shortcut formula follows:

SD =
−X 2

−(
− X) 2

N N
How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 6

where (X ÷ N)2 equals the sum of the squares of the raw scores, ∑X2 ÷ N equals the mean

of the raw scores, , and N equals the total number of raw scores.

Example: Shortcut Method

Table 2. Shortcut formula for computing

the standard deviation (SD).
Raw Score
X2
x
1 1
2 4
3 9
4 16
5 25
∑x = 15 ∑x2 = 55
√∑x/n = 15/5=3 √∑x2/n = 55/5=11

SD = −
X2 − X 2
−( )
N N

SD = − 55 − ( − 15 ) 2

5 5

SD = 11− 9

SD = 1.41

Refer to Table 2 above. The formula requires the values of N, ∑X, and ∑X2.
How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 7

SD = −X 2
− ( − )2
X
N N

SD = − 55 − ( − 15 ) 2

5 5

SD = 11− 9

SD = 1.41

The definitional formula and shortcut formula produce identical results.

Interpreting the Standard Deviation

The standard deviation measures the variation among scores. If scores cluster

about the mean, a small SD results. If scores spread out father from the mean, the SD

will be larger. For

For data that approximate a normal distribution (bell-shaped curve), the SD

estimates the proportion of scores falling above and below the mean, regardless of

distribution type and absolute magnitude of the mean. The spread of data follows the

“68-95-99 Rule.”

Standard Deviation 68-95-99 Rule

 About 68% of all scores fall within <pm>1 SD of the mean

 About 95% of all scores fall within <pm>2 SD of the mean

 About 99.7% of all scores fall within <pm>3 SD of the mean

To interpret the SD, consider the following example. Percent body fat for all

college-age males is normally distributed with an overall mean of 15%, and a SD of ±5

percentage points. According to the “68-95-99 Rule,” 68% of college age males have a

percentage body fat that ranges between 10 to 20% (-1 SD from the mean equals 10%; +1
How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Variability MVS 250 – V, Katch Page 8

SD from the mean = 20%); 95% possess a percentage body fat between 5 to 25% (15 -2 x

SD = 5%; 15 +2 x SD = 25%); and 99% have a percentage body fat within the range of 0 to

30% (15 -3 x SD = 0; 15 +3 x SD = 30%).

Figure 1 below shows the proportion of data that fall ±1, 2, and 3 SD from the

mean. Clearly, scores in any distribution that exceed 3 x SD from the mean are atypical.

Note: In this figure 
S = SD