Mean Deviation

Mean Deviation

The Mean Deviation (MD) is defined as the arithmetic mean of the absolute deviations of the individual values from a measure of central tendency of the data set. It is also known as the average deviation.

The measure of central tendency is either mean or median. If the measure of central tendency is mean (or median), then we get the mean deviation about the mean (or median).

The coefficient of mean deviation (CMD) is the relative measure of dispersion corresponding to mean deviation and it is given by

Example 6.4

The following are the weights of 10 children admitted in a hospital on a particular day.

Find the mean deviation about mean, median and their coefficients of mean deviation.

7,4,10,9,15,12,7,9,9,18

Solution: