Average deviation

Average deviation is a measure of the variability or spread of a data set.

It is a measure of the average difference between each data point and the mean of the data set.

It is sometimes referred to as the mean absolute deviation or mean deviation.

How to calculate

  1. Calculate the mean of the data set.
  2. Calculate the absolute value of the difference between each data point and the mean.
  3. Sum the absolute values of the differences.
  4. Divide the sum by the number of data points.
  5. The result is the average deviation.

Examples

  1. A company wants to analyze the average deviation of their quarterly sales in order to identify any patterns or trends.

  2. A school wants to measure the average deviation of their students’ test scores to see how their students are performing compared to past years.

  3. An economist wants to use the average deviation of two countries’ stock markets to determine which country is performing better financially.

  4. A biologist wants to measure the average deviation of a species’ population size to determine if there is a significant change in population size over time.

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