dispersion

(noun)

the degree of scatter of data

Related Terms

Examples of dispersion in the following topics:

  • Range

    • Unlike other more popular measures of dispersion, the range actually measures total dispersion (between the smallest and largest values) rather than relative dispersion around a measure of central tendency.
    • The range is interpreted as the overall dispersion of values in a dataset or, more literally, as the difference between the largest and the smallest value in a dataset.
    • Interpret the range as the overall dispersion of values in a dataset

  • Measures of Variability of Qualitative and Ranked Data

    • An index of qualitative variation (IQV) is a measure of statistical dispersion in nominal distributions--or those dealing with qualitative data.
    • The variation ratio is a simple measure of statistical dispersion in nominal distributions.
    • This group is more dispersed in terms of gender than a group which is 95% female and has a variation ratio of only 0.05.
    • This group is much more dispersed, religiously, than a group which is 85% Catholic and has a variation ratio of only 0.15.
    • Assess the use of IQV in measuring statistical dispersion in nominal distributions

  • Standard Deviation: Definition and Calculation

    • Standard deviation (represented by the symbol sigma, $\sigma$) shows how much variation or dispersion exists from the average (mean), or expected value.
    • In statistics, the standard deviation is the most common measure of statistical dispersion.
    • In a certain sense, the standard deviation is a "natural" measure of statistical dispersion if the center of the data is measured about the mean.

  • Interquartile Range

    • The interquartile range (IQR) is a measure of statistical dispersion, or variability, based on dividing a data set into quartiles.
    • The interquartile range (IQR) is a measure of statistical dispersion, or variability, based on dividing a data set into quartiles.

  • Binomial Probability Distributions

    • These male (a) and female (b) catkins from the goat willow tree (Salix caprea) have structures that are light and feathery to better disperse and catch the wind-blown pollen.

  • Homogeneity and Heterogeneity

    • Here "variability" could be quantified by the variance or any other measure of statistical dispersion.

  • The Density Scale

    • The spacings between the different parts of the box help indicate the degree of dispersion (spread) and skewness in the data and to identify outliers.

  • Line of Best Fit

    • The closeness (or otherwise) of the cloud of data points to the line suggests the concept of spread or dispersion.

  • Estimation

    • However, if the MSE is relatively low, then the arrows are likely more highly clustered (than highly dispersed).

  • Mean: The Average

    • Central tendency is contrasted with statistical dispersion (spread), and together these are the most used properties of distributions.