What is Standard Deviation? As in what does it measure, is it a measure of spread of a graph of results?
Standard deviation is a statistical measure that quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion in a dataset. It measures how spread out the values in a dataset are around the mean (average).
To calculate the standard deviation, you need to follow these steps:
1. Calculate the mean (average) of the dataset.
2. Subtract the mean from each value in the dataset.
3. Square each of the resulting differences.
4. Calculate the mean of the squared differences.
5. Take the square root of the mean of the squared differences.
The resulting value is the standard deviation, which provides an indication of the spread or dispersion of the data.
A larger standard deviation suggests that the values in the dataset are more spread out from the mean, indicating greater variability. Conversely, a smaller standard deviation indicates that the values are closer to the mean, suggesting less variability or a more concentrated distribution.
In the context of a graph, standard deviation can be used to understand the degree of dispersion of data points from the mean. A graph with a higher standard deviation will have data points that are more widely scattered, while a graph with a lower standard deviation will have data points that are closer together.
In summary, standard deviation measures the variability or spread of a dataset and helps to provide insights into the distribution and dispersion of data points around the mean.