Standard deviation is very useful for the proper interpretation of research and data. It is the most widely used indicator to measure how spread out a data set is. A high standard deviation indicates scores are spread out. A low standard deviation means they are close on either side of the mean. This essay will explain what standard deviation is and the importance it plays in statistics. The standard deviation is commonly used throughout statistics, but lacks the attention it often time deserves. The mean and median are often the common sight of statistics but they are rarely accompanied by the explanation of how diverse the data set was, which causes you to miss the most interesting part. Without standard deviation you cannot determine …show more content…
If two sets of data have the same average that does not mean the data sets will be exactly the same. For example, 199,200,201 and 0,200,400 data sets both have the same average which is 200, yet they will have different standard deviations. The first data set 199,200,201 has a small deviation of (s=1) and the second data set has a deviation of (s=200). Standard deviation is very difficult to understand for many but it is a helpful concept to learn. Although it is very complicated, this helps you to find the story behind data. Suppose you have two different classes whose mean reading scores are all the same. By using just that information you would essentially teach these classes the same. Now suppose you discover that the standard deviation of one class is 27 and the other is 10. For the first class (27) you will need to use teaching strategies for those who are gifted and those who are challenged. In the second class (10) you will not have any gifted or challenged students. They are all average and your teaching skills will be completely different. Standard Deviation is a major part to know in statistics. Many people tend to overlook standard deviation not realizing how much it can affect your ending results. As I addressed earlier, standard deviation may be very hard to understand but once you learn it in the end it will be very