Mean Deviation and Standard Deviation
Mean deviation and standard deviation are measures of central tendency that are highly used for finding the various measures of the data set. The basic difference between the mean deviation and the standard deviation is discussed in the table below,
Mean Deviation | Standard Deviation |
---|---|
All the central points (mean, median and mode) are used to find the mean deviation. | Mean is only used to find the standard deviation. |
Absolute value of the deviation is used to find the mean deviation. | Square of the deviation is used to find the standard deviation. |
Mean deviation is a less frequently used data measure. | Standard Deviation is a highly used data measure that is used to find various central measures. |
Mean Deviation
We define the mean deviation of the data set as the value which tells us how far each data is from the centre point of the data set. The centre point of the data set can be the Mean, Median or Mode. Thus, the mean of the deviation of all the data in a set from the centre point of the data set is called the mean deviation of the data set. We can calculate the mean deviation for both Grouped data and ungrouped data. Mean deviation measures the arbitrary change in the values of the data set from the centre point of the data set.