Much like measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion are also importan

Question

Much like measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion are also important statistical tools. This includes both range and standard deviation. Range: is the difference between the highest and lowest value in a series. Range quantifies the spread of a set of data and is necessary for creating visual aids such as histograms. Standard deviation: is the actual variation of a set of data. It is determined by analyzing a value in relation to a mean value.

Q: In what ways is calculating standard deviation from a sample is more feasible than from a population?

Explanation / Answer

Answer - The standard deviation should be calculated from sample instead of population in the following cases:

--> When the population is too large. In this case, we can't waste our time and money to find each and every data point and then calculate standard deviation.

--> When the entire population data can't be gathered i.e. the population size is infinite.

--> When the population is hypothetical. For example, if we are tossing a coin and recording the number of heads then for such a population, there is no limit in the elements. We have to stop after n number of tosses and that n would be sample.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse M
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.