Which leads to the average deviation formula:

Dx = (|x1 x| + |x2 x| ++ |x3 x|) / N

Sample question: Find the average deviation of the following set of numbers: 3, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9,
9, 9.

Step 1: Find the mean:

(3 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9) = 71.9 = 7.89.

Step 2: Find each individual absolute deviation using the formula |x x|.

|3 7.89| = 4.89
|8 7.89| = 0.11
|8 7.89| = 0.11
|8 7.89| = 0.11
|8 7.89| = 0.11
|9 7.89| = 1.11
|9 7.89| = 1.11
|9 7.89| = 1.11
|9 7.89| = 1.11

Step 3: Add up all of the values you found in Step 1.

4.89+0.11+0.11+0.11+0.11+1.11+1.11+1.11+1.11= 9.77

Step 4: Divide by the number of items in your data set. There are 9 items, so:
9.77/9 = 1.09.

The average deviation is 1.09.

Standard Deviation vs. Average Deviation

Absolute Deviation is used less frequently than the standard deviation, but its extremely similar:
both are a measure of spread. There are occasions when two different sets of data with different
spreads can produce the exact same absolute deviation. However, the standard deviation can also
be the same for different data sets. The absolute deviation is also considered to be more accurate
for real-life situations; some authors have suggested that MAD should replace the standard
deviation for real-life data. As well as potentially being more accurate, its also a lot simpler to
calculate.

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Sample question 3: What is the range of the following times?

2.7 hrs, 8.3 hrs, 3.5 hrs, 5.1 hrs, 4.9 hrs
Step 1: Sort the numbers in order, from smallest to largest:
2.7, 3.5, 4.9, 5.1, 8.3

Step 2: Subtract the smallest number in the set from the largest number in the set:
8.3 hr 2.7 hr = 5.6 hr
The range is 5.6 hr.

Thats how to find a range!

Fun fact: The origin of the word Range in mathematics is unknown, but a few early uses of
the word as its used in statistics can be found as far back as 1848, in H. Lloyd, On Certain
Questions Connected with the Reduction of Magnetical and Meteorological Observations,
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 4, 180-183 (David, 1995). The word was later used in a
book on Calculus in 1865: The Differential Calculus by John Spare mentions: in respect to
the range of values which the function and its variable may sustain, and to their mutual
dependence [University of Michigan Digital Library]. Although technically not statistics, the
range in calculus has practically the same meaning (the spread from the smallest value to the
largest).

Another Example.

Problem: You take 7 statistics tests over the course of a semester. You score 94, 88, 73, 84, 91,
87, and 79. What is the range of your scores?
Solution:
Step 1: Order your scores from smallest to largest:
73, 79, 84, 87, 88, 91, 94.
Step 2: Subtract the smallest number from the highest = 94 73 = 21.
Answer: 21.

When it Might be Misleading

The range only uses the smallest and the largest number in a set. The rest of the values are
ignored. That could lead to a misleading result. Take the above test scores. Lets say you had the
flu one test day and scored a 10 instead of an 84. Then:
94 10 = 84!
Thats not a good reflection of your overall test performance at all.
The score of 10 in the example above is what we call an outlier. Its an extremely high or low
value that can throw off stats. Thats why other measures of spread are sometimes preferred, like
the mean.

Rule of Thumb