MEASURES OF

POSITION
Von Christopher G. Chua, LPT, MST

Session Objectives
In this session, graduate students enrolled in Statistical
Methods are expected to acquire the following competencies
1. Describe the three
types of quantiles.
2. Interpret the position of
a given score based on
its quantile rank.

3. Compute for a specific

quartile, or decile of a
given raw set of data and
the percentile of a
grouped data.

This slideshow presentation is made available through the course

website, mathbychua.weebly.com
Download a copy for your reviewing purposes.

Quick Review

What are measures of central

tendency?
What are the three commonly used
measures of central tendency?
Define each.
When is it most appropriate to use
each measure? When is it not
appropriate?

Quick Review

This implies that half

or 50 percent of the
scores lie below (or
less than) the median
while the other half of
the scores lie above it.

upper
50%

MEDIA
N

lower
50%

Lowest
Score

Distribution (or data

set)

The median is the

middlemost score in a
distribution.

Highest
Score

The Medians Other Significance

upper
50%

MEDIA
N

lower
50%

Lowest
Score

Distribution (or data

set)

The median is more

than just a measure of
central tendency. It
also implies the
location of a score
with respect to the
other scores. Such
scores are called
MEASURES OF
POSITION.

Highest
Score

Consider this
Jessie and Jessa are identical twins who go to
the same school and are in the same grade
level but belong to different sections.
On card distribution day, their mother noted
that Jessie got a grade of 85 in Math while
Jessa got 80 in the same subject. Concerned,
she talked to Jessas adviser regarding this.
The adviser said Jessa actually has the better
grade.
How is this possible?

Consider this
Take a look at the grades obtained by Jessie
and Jessa in comparison with the grades of
their classmates.
Jessies class:
85
80 81 8111th83 85 87 88 89 89 89
89 90 92 92 93
80
Jessas class:
7th
75 75 76 77 79 79 79 79 80 81
81 81 82 82 85

Measure of Position defined

Measures of position, also known as
quantiles, divide the distribution,
arranged in descending or ascending
order, into several equal parts
depending on type.
The quartiles divide the distribution into four
equal parts.
The deciles divide the distribution into ten
equal parts.

Quartiles
25%

distribution into four equal parts.

The middle quartile is the median

itself.

Distribution (or data

set)

The
quartiles divide the

HS

25%
75%

MEDIA
N

There are three quartiles: or lower

quartile, or the middle quartile,

and or upper quartile.

25%
75%

25%
LS

Quartiles
Determine the value of the three quartiles in
39
21
the raw data:
39 39
20 22
28
Q3 30 35
Q1 20 22
median
18 18 19
25 26 28
th
There39
are 15
39
39scores.
44 The
45.middlemost score is the 8 .
Start with the median or middle quartile.
There are eight scores lesser or equal to the
median. The middlemost of these scores is the
lower quartile.
There are eight scores greater or equal to the
median. The middlemost of these scores is the

Quartiles
Determine the value of the three quartiles in the
72.5
raw data:
72 73
67
90
median
Q1
Q3 75 75
57
59are64
64 67The69
70 is71
72 73
There
18 scores.
median
between
72 and 73.
78 90 94 97 99 Q2
99is 72.5
There are 9 scores lesser or equal to the median. Q1 is 67
There are 9 scores greater or equal to the median. Q3 is
90

Deciles
into ten equal parts.

The fifth decile is the median and is

also equal to the middle quartile.
When we consider , we note that 80
percent of the distribution lies below
this value while 20% lies above it.
Similarly, 30 percent of the scores are
less than and the remaining 70
percent are greater.

Distribution (or data

set)

The
nine deciles divide the distribution

MEDIA
N

LS

10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%
10
%

HS

Deciles
the value of
Determine

data:
6
6
5
6
6
6

11
12 2215
20

and in the raw

6
7
7
15
15

There are 30 scores.

9
10
37 39

18 19 20
22 this
24by 10,
27 we27
28 30 35
Dividing
get 3.
36 means
37 that
39 there
45 should
41 be three scores in between
This
every decile.
The locations of the three deciles we want to determine
are given.

Percentiles
HS
13
%

equal parts, there exists 99 different

percentiles.
The 50 percentile is the median.
th

Each quartile and decile is equivalent

to a percentile. For example, the lower
quartile is also the 25th percentile
while the 4th decile is the same as .
The 87th percentile accounts for the
score wherein 87% of the data falls
below it while the 13% is above it.

Distribution (or data

set)

By dividing any distribution into 100

87
%

MEDIA

LS

Percentiles (Grouped Data)

Percentiles are used for data containing a relatively
large sample or population size. Sometimes, raw scores
are transmuted into its corresponding percentile. This
number is called the percentile rank.
The formula used
for percentile
is:
frequency
cumulative
sample size
times the
value of k

Percentile
score

before the class

class size

lower boundary
of the class

frequency of
the class

Percentiles (Grouped Data)

th
Solve
for
the
value
of
the
27
percentile

in the given grouped data.

Identify the location of the 27

percentile first by computing for the
value of .
th

27th
percentile
class

Locate this value based on the

cumulative frequencies to determine
the percentile class.
All values needed in the formula must

Class
Interval
s
5 22

23 40

14

41 58

14

28

59 76

10

38

77 94

43

95 112

45

Percentiles (Grouped Data)

Solve for the value of the 27th
percentile in the given grouped data.

27th
percentile
class

This means that 27 percent of the

scores fall below 36.8 while 73 percent
are above it.

Class
Interval
s
5 22

23 40

14

41 58

14

28

59 76

10

38

77 94

43

95 112

45

Percentiles (Grouped Data)

Compute for the value of the 68th
percentile in the given grouped data.

68 percentile
class
th

68 percent of the scores are less than

63.7.

Class
Interval
s
5 22

23 40

14

41 58

14

28

59 76

10

38

77 94

43

95 112

45

MEASURES OF
VARIABILITY

Session Objectives
In this session, graduate students enrolled in Statistical
Methods are expected to acquire the following competencies
1. Explain the concept of
variability as defined in
statistics.

3. Compute for the range,

variance, and standard
deviation of a given set
of raw or grouped data.

2. Compare the most

common measures of
variability by stating
the advantages and
disadvantages of using
This slideshow presentation is made available through the course
each.

website, mathbychua.weebly.com
Download a copy for your reviewing purposes.

Look back and Learn

Ten heads of a family each from two
barangays in the same municipality have
been asked to state how much they earn
per day. The data is given below.
Brgy
350
Brgy
450

A: 110 190 200 240 290 350 350

360 1190
B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400
460 470

Compute for the mean and median of both data

sets.

The degree to which numerical data

tend to spread about an average
value is called the dispersion, or
variation, of the data.
Quantities that aim to represent
such characteristic are called
measures of variability.

The most common measures of

variability or dispersion are the
range, interquartile range, variance,
and standard deviation.

The Range
Pros
Simplest
Brgy A: 110 190 200 240 290 350
measure of
350 350 360 1190
variability
Brgy B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400
Easy to
450 460 470
compute.
Expressed in
In the case of the two sets of data given above,
the same
the measures of central tendency are equal.
unit as the
However, by looking into the individual scores,
raw scores.
we can imply that there is a relatively large
difference between the extrememost scores in
Cons
each data set.
Does not
take into
The range is the difference between the highest
account all
and the lowest scores.
scores in
the

The Interquartile Range

Interquartile Range (IQR) is a measure that
The

indicates the extent to which the central 50% of

values within the dataset are dispersed.
IQR is the difference between the upper and
lower quartiles. That is,
Brgy
350
Brgy
450

A: 110 190 200 240 290 350

350 360 1190
B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400
460 470

Compute for and compare the IQRs of the two

data sets.

Pros
Easy to
compute.
Expressed in
the same
unit as the
raw scores.
Not easily
affected by
outliers.
Cons
Does not
take into
account all

The Variance
computation of variance differs
The

depending on whether the data is taken from

a population or from a sample.
Population variance of a set of data is the
sum of the squares of the differences
between each observation in the sample and
the sample mean divided by the population
size. Sample variance is similar except that
1 is subtracted from the sample size. In
symbols,

Pros
Not easily
affected by
outliers.
Takes into
account all
scores in the
distribution.
Cons
Not easily
computed
compared to
the other
measures of
variability.

The Variance
for the variance of the given data.
Compute

Brgy A: 110 190 200 240 290 350

350

350 360 1190

Brgy B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400
450 460 470
Computing of data from Brgy A:

Since the data is taken from a sample, we use

the formula,
By computation, 3.

110

-253

64 009

190

-173

29 929

200

-163

26 569

240

-123

15 129

290

-73

5 329

350

-13

169

350

-13

169

350

-13

169

360

-3

1190

827 683 929

=

825
410

The Variance
for the variance of the data from Brgy.
Compute

B.
Brgy A: 110 190 200 240 290 350 350
350 360 1190
Brgy B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400
450 460 470
Since the data is taken from a sample, we use
the formula,
By computation, 3.

290
290
290
300
300
320
320
360
360
400
400
450
450
460
460
470
470

-73
-73
-73
-63
-63
-43
-43
-3
-3
37
37
87
87
97
97
107
107
=

5329
5329
5329
3969
3969
1849
1849
9
9
1369
1369
7569
7569
9409
9409
11449
11449
51
51 610
610

The Standard Deviation

Standard Deviation of a given set of
The

data is the square root of the variance.

The computation of standard deviation
depends on the variance. Therefore, the
formula for population standard deviation is
different from the sample standard deviation.

Pros
Not easily
affected by
outliers.
Takes into
account all
scores in the
distribution.
Expressed in
the same unit
as the raw
scores.
Cons
Not easily
computed

The Standard Deviation

the same data sets,
Given

Brgy A: 110 190 200

240 290 350 350 350 360

1190
Brgy B: 290 290 290 300 320 360 400 450 460
470
And having omputed for the variance of the distributions, we

get the following values for the standard deviation:

Brgy. A:
Brgy B:
By comparison, the data on daily income of the heads of
families in Brgy A is more dispersed than that in Brgy B.

The Standard Deviation

Compute for the
variance and the
standard
deviation of the
given
distribution.

35
39
40
44
45
45
47
48
53
54

Variance and Standard Deviation

for Grouped Data

If the
data is grouped, use the formula:
Class
Intervals
5 22

23 40

41 58

14

59 76

10

77 94

95 112

Variance and Standard Deviation

for Grouped Data
Class
Intervals

5 22

13.5

67.5

23 40

31.5

283.5

-20.8

41 58

14

49.5

693

-2.8

59
59 76
76
77
77 94
94
95
95 112
112

10
10
5
5

67.5
67.5
85.5
85.5

675
675
427.5
427.5

103.5
103.5

207
207

2
2

2
2 353.5
353.5

-38.8 1505.44

7527.2

432.64 3893.76
7.84

109.76

15.2
15.2 231.04
231.04 2310.4
2310.4
33.2
33.2 1102.24
1102.24 5511.2
5511.2
51.2
51.2 2621.44
2621.44 5242.88
5242.88
24
24
595.2
595.2

Your turn
Compute for the sample variance and sample standard
deviation of the given grouped distribution.
Class
Intervals

4-14

15-25

10

26-36

22

37-47

11

48-58

Important Reminders and Concerns

Download
Learning Task 3
from the course
website on
January 13 and
submit on
January 21 during
the Midterm
Exam.
Submit all other
Learning tasks on
the same date.

Coverage of the middle of the term examination:

Basic Statistical Terms
Sampling and its Techniques
Nature of Data
Methods of Data Presentation
Grouping Data: Frequency Distribution Tables,
Histograms, Frequency Poliygons, and Plots
Summation
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Position
Measures of Variability
Type of test: Modified true or false, Computation and
analysis
Bring calculators and/or laptops. It will be an
open notes test.

THANK
S!