Streuungsmaße

Streuungsmaße, also known as measures of dispersion or variability, are statistical quantities that describe the extent to which a set of data points are spread out or clustered together. They provide valuable information about the distribution of values within a dataset, complementing measures of central tendency like the mean or median. Understanding the spread of data is crucial for interpreting its characteristics and making informed decisions.

A commonly used Streumaß is the Range, which is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset. While simple to calculate, the range is sensitive to outliers and does not account for the distribution of the intermediate values. Another important measure is the Variance, which quantifies the average of the squared differences from the mean. The Variance is always non-negative and is expressed in squared units of the original data.

The Standard Deviation is the square root of the Variance. It is a widely used Streumaß because it is expressed in the same units as the original data, making it more interpretable. A low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be close to the mean, while a high standard deviation suggests that the data points are more spread out. The Interquartile Range (IQR) is another robust measure, representing the difference between the third quartile (75th percentile) and the first quartile (25th percentile). The IQR is less affected by extreme values than the range. These measures collectively help to paint a comprehensive picture of data variability.