Chapter 5 Calculating the Mean and Standard Deviation

The mean and standard deviations are the most widely utilized statistical tools. They are

used to determine the central tendency (typical score) and variability (spread) of interval data. Mathematically, the mean is the arithmetic average of a number of scores. To obtain the mean, add your scores and divide by the number of scores that you have. Consider the following data, which represents the time needed to complete a reading task, as an e ample. Time in Minutes ! " # # $ % ! & " $ Total ' &" The mean is the sum of scores divided by the number of scores, mathematically(

Mean '

)*+ ' &"*,- ' &."

#.,

The standard deviation, abbreviated as s, is a measure of the variability of interval data. The formula for the standard deviation is given below.

S=

x2 -

( x )2 N (N - 1)

To find the standard deviation, subtract the mean from each of the scores, s/uare the deviation, and then add up the s/uared deviations. This process is outlined below. Time 0cores Mean 0core . mean ! " # # $ % ! & " $ &." &." &." &." &." &." &." &." &." &." ,.% .,." -.% -.% .$." $.% ,.% .-." .,." .$." $ (0core . mean)

$.12 ,.!2 -.&2 -.&2 #.$2 %.$2 $.12 -.-2 ,.!2 #.$2 Total ' $1.,-

S=

28.10 = 3.12 = 1.77 9

Therefore, the standard deviation becomes(

#.$

The mean and standard deviation give you the information necessary to draw the theoretical distribution of your scores. The Normal Distribution 7re/uencies 8 8 ( 8 8 8 8 !1.$4 8 8 ( 9..: ( 8 8 8 8 ( ( ( 8 8 8 8 ( ( 2#.&4( ( 8 8 9.............: 8 8 ( ( 22.%4( ( 8 8 9.......................: 8 ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ; ."s .$s .s ) <s <$s <"s middle point of the distribution is the mean. 3etween the mean and the mean plus a standard deviation are about "&4 of the scores (actually "&.,"4.) 5emember that this represents the theoretical distribution6 your actual distribution may differ from the theoretical distribution. 3etween the mean and the mean plus two standard deviations, you will have nearly &%.#4 of the scores (the actual theoretical percentage is &%.%$.) Two standard deviations above the mean you should have appro imately $.#4 of your scores (actual theoretical percentage is $.$1.) 0ince the theoretical distribution is sym. metrical, you should have the same percentage distributions below the mean score.

#."

Normal Distribution 7re/uencies 8 8 ( 8 8 8 8 !1.$4 8 8 ( 9..: ( 8 8 8 8 ( ( ( 8 8 8 8 ( ( 2#.&4 ( 8 8 9.................: 8 8 ( ( 22.%4 ( ( 8 8 9......................: 8 ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ..# ,." "., &." !., %.2 2.%

=ow well did our theoretical distribution describe our scores> 3etween the mean and the mean plus a standard deviation, we e pected from our theoretical distribution to have "&4 of our scores. ?e actually had & out of ,- scores (&-4). 3etween the mean and the mean minus a standard deviation, we had " out of ,- scores ("-4.) Theoretically, we should have had about "&4. @t looks like our theoretical distri. bution was somewhat accurate in describing our actual data. The accuracy of the theoretical distribution becomes greater as the sample size

increases. @f we had #- people in our time test, the data would have more closely resembled the theoretical distribution. @f you know the mean and the standard deviation for a test, then you should be able to draw the theoretical distribution for that test. 7or e ample, some @A tests have a mean of ,-and a standard deviation of ,#. ?hat percentage of @A scores should theoretically fall between 1# and ,,#> The answer is about !14. The mean and standard deviation also give you the guidelines necessary to interpret an individual score. 7or e ample, my test of self.concept has a mean of about !#, and a standard deviation of about 1 for college students. ?hat would a score of #- on my self.concept test indicate> B score of #- is appro imately two standard deviations below the mean, a very low score. Bppro imately 214 of all people (theoretically) would score higher.

#.&

Calculating the Mean and Standard Deviation For Grouped Data Cften data will be reported in terms of grouped observation and the calculation of the mean and standard deviations are modified somewhat. Blthough the logic of the computations and interpretations are not changed, the computational procedures become more tedious. Consider the following e ample of age classifications( Bges #, . !&, . #", . &$, . ",, . $f " ,,# ,, #

To calculate the mean and standard deviation you must determine the midpoint for each of the groups of observations. Bdding the upper and lower scores for each interval and dividing by two can obtain the midpoints. 7or e ample, for the first group of data the midpoint would be (#, < !-)*$ ' ,,,*$ ' ##.#. @ have redrawn the data below with the midpoints inserted. Blso, @ have included in the redrawn data a column headed by the term f Midpoint, which is simply the midpoint multiplied by the fre/uency Bges #, . !&, . #", . &$, . ",, . $f " ,,# ,, # Midpoints ##.# &#.# "#.# $#.# ,#.# f Midpoint ,!!.# &##.#"$.# $1-.# %%.#

Total ' ,#,$.-

The mean becomes the sum of the scores in the f Midpoint column divided by the sample size. The sample size can be determined by adding the f column (+ ' &&). Therefore, the mean ' ,#,$.-*&& ' "&."! (rounded to "&.&). To determine the standard deviation we will need to add one additional column to the table of calculations above. This additional column is $ f midpoint and @ have redrawn our table below with the added column. $ Bges f Midpoints f Midpoint f Midpoint #, . !- " ##.# ,!!.# 2$&-.%# &, . #- ,", . &- ,# $, . "- ,, ,, . $- # &#.# "#.# $#.# ,#.# &##.#"$.# $1-.# %%.# $-%-$.#,12-".%# %,#$.%# ,$-,.$# #%$-,.--

Totals ' ,#,$.-

The standard deviation is obtained by a slightly different formula, which is easier to apply in this situation. (Dou should remember that the new formula gives the same answer as the formula @ presented above. @t is not too difficult a task to show that the formulas are mathemati. cally the same.) The new formula is presented below(

Normal Distribution 7re/uencies 8 8 ( 8 8 8 8 !1.$4 8 8 ( 9..: ( 8 8 8 8 ( ( ( 8 8 8 8 ( (2#.&4 ( ( 8 8 9.............: 8 8 ( (22.%4 ( ( 8 8 9........................: 8 ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ,$.& "&.& #!.& ,.& $".& &#.& !%.&

S=

x2 -

( x )2 N (N - 1)

The interpretation of the mean and standard deviation is the same for the grouped application as it was for the case in which the data were not grouped. 3elow is the theoretical distribution (normal distribution) for our pro. blem (0 is rounded to ,,).

How to Perform the Calculations Using Stats.E e @ will show you how to use the program with the problems presented in this chapter. 0elect the Estart calculationsE option. The program will respond as follows( The program will ask if you would like to input the data from a file (select YES) or from the keyboard (select NO). Select >NO= to indicate that the data is to be entered from the keyboard. Ne t! you must indicate if your data is in discrete or grouped form. Enter one (") now if your data is in discrete form or two (#) if your data is in grouped form. (enter ,) $ screen will appear for you to enter your data. %se one line for each data entry. &hen finished entering the data select the >'inished= option to perform the calculations. ! " # # $ %

! & " $ Mean ' &." 0tandard Feviation ' ,.%!! 88 8 8 8 ( 8 8 8 8 8 8(9 !14:( 8 8 8 8 8 89 . . . 2#4 . . . : 8 8 8 8 (9. . . . . 224 . . . . .:( 8 ............(......(......(......(......(......(.......(.................... M."s M.$s M.s M M<s M<$s M<"s 5esults rounded to $ decimal places. M<s' !.-! M<$s' %.1$ M<"s' 2.#1 M' &." M."s'..21 M.$s' .%1 M.s' $.#& Bt this point, if you wish to calculate additional means and standard deviations simply select the Estart calculationsE command again and the computer will recycle to perform additional calculations. +ow, @ will demonstrate how to use the program to calculate the mean and standard deviation for grouped data,. The program is designed to with data in grouped form. if your data is in discrete if your data is in discrete grouped form. (enter #) work with discrete data or to work To use the program you must indicate or grouped form. Enter one (") now form or two (#) if your data is in

(nput your data high score! low score! and fre)uency (with a space between each entry. *ike this+ ,
Dou may need to change your font (courier is recommended) and adGust the spacing of the normal curve on the ne t page to obtain a balanced display.

#, !- " &, #- ,", &- ,# $, "- ,, ,, $- # ?hen all the data has been entered select the >7inished= option. The results should appear as follows( ,ange 're)uency *ow -igh (f) ................................. /" 01 2 3" /1 "1 2" 31 "/ #" 21 "" "" #1 / Mean ' "&."!" 0tandard Feviation ' ,,.-&$ 4 4 4 4 4 4 4+5 . 4 4 45 . . . . + 4 4 4 4 067 . 8+ 4 4 9/7 . . . . 4 8 4

4 4 +5 . . . . . . . 997 . . . . . . . 8+ 4 .......+......+......+......+......+......+.......+.... :.2s :.#s :.s : :;s :;#s :;2s ,esults rounded to # decimal places. M<s' &#.& M<$s' #!.&& M<"s' !%.&1 M' "&."! M."s' ,.$& M.$s' ,$.$1 M.s' $"."$

Chapter H ercises ,. B magazine is interested in e panding its readership to Eyuppies,E defined as people between the ages of "- to &-. 7ollowing are the ages of a random selection of the magazineIs readership, is there any reason to be concerned> Fraw the theoretical distribution and contrast the actual score distribution with the theoretical distribution. @s the sample ade/uate> $", ",, $2, $,, $#, $%, $#, $,, $2, "-, "#, &,, $", "#, ,2, $-, $!, $&, $!, $#, $1, $%, #,, ,#, $1, $,, $", $# $. B more e tensive e amination of the readership was undertaken after the initiation of a one. year advertising program, designed to increase the readership age range. 7ollowing are the data collected from this more e tensive study. Fraw the theoretical distribution of the ages of the readers. ?hat do you conclude> @s the sample ade/uate> Bges $- . $& $# . $2 "- . "& "# . "2 &- . && &# . &2 7re/uency $! &# 1% "1 &

!ddendum to Chapter " Determining the !de#uac$ of a Sample Bs was stated in the previous chapter, the sample size for an e periment may be inade/uate for two reasons. 7irst, the sample may be too small6 second, the sample may not be representative of the population being studied. 7or a more detailed presentation of sample size determination you may want to consult the Hlfin 7orest 0oftware=s Thesis ?riter (,22#) or the 0caling.3ok file located on the web.site www.cliffordweedman.com. B /uick way to determine if your sample size is problematic, for an e periment involving means and standard deviations, is to determine the percentage of cases that fall between the mean plus and the mean minus a standard deviation. 3ased on theory, the percentage should be !14. =owever, if the actual percentage is less than !-4 or greater than %!4 then you can consider your sample to problematic. The 14 tolerance was e plained in the previous chapter. 7or e ample, consider the first /uestion in the problem set above. The mean was $!.12 and the standard deviation was %.,". The value of the mean plus a standard deviation was "&.-$ and ,2.%! for the mean minus a standard deviation. 3etween ,2.%! and "&.-$ were $$ of the $1 observations. Cr, about %1.!4. 0ince this e ceeds our ma imum allowable percentage (%!4) then we can conclude that our sample size is problematic