Standard Deviation
A standard deviation (or σ) is a measure of how dispersed the data is in
relation to the mean. Low standard deviation means data are clustered
around the mean, and high standard deviation indicates data are more
spread out. A standard deviation close to zero indicates that data points are
close to the mean, whereas a high or low standard deviation indicates data
points are respectively above or below the mean.
Note. There is also no universal number that determines whether or not a
standard deviation is “high” or “low.” A standard deviation can’t be “good”
or “bad” because it simply tells us how spread out the values are in a
sample, or simply how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean, and
how close the SD is close to zero.
In Image 7, the curve on top is more spread out and therefore has a higher standard
deviation, while the curve below is more clustered around the mean and therefore has a
lower standard deviation.
[2]
[Image 7: High and low standard deviation curves. Source: University of North Carolina,
2012.]
To calculate the standard deviation, use the following formula:
In this formula, σ is the standard deviation, x1 is the data point we are solving for in the
set, µ is the mean, and N is the total number of data points. Let’s go back to the class
example, but this time look at their height. To calculate the standard deviation of the
class’s heights, first calculate the mean from each individual height. In this class there
are nine students with an average height of 75 inches. Now the standard deviation
equation looks like this:
The first step is to subtract the mean from each data point. Then square the absolute
value before adding them all together. Now divide by 9 (the total number of data points)
and finally take the square root to reach the standard deviation of the data:
Subtract
Height Square
mean Sum of Variance Standard
in Mean Result each
from each Squares x deviation
inches µ x value
data point ∑x Ν σ=√x
x x2
x-µ
56 75 56 – 75 -19 361 784 87.1 9.3
65 65 – 75 -10 100
74 74 – 75 -1 1
75 75 – 75 0 0
76 76 – 75 1 1
77 77 – 75 2 4
80 80 – 75 5 25
81 81 – 75 6 36
91 91 – 75 16 256
[Figure 2: The step-by-step process of finding the standard deviation of sample data]
This data shows that 68% of heights were 75 inches plus or minus 9.3 inches (1
standard deviation away from the mean), 95% of heights were 75’’ plus or minus 18.6’’
(2 standard deviations away from the mean), and 99.7% of heights were 75’’ plus or
minus 27.9’’ (3 standard deviations away from the mean).
