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Spread

Definition

Spread refers to how much variability or dispersion exists within a data set. It measures how far apart the values are from each other.

Analogy

Think of spread as the distance between two points on a map. If the points are close together, the spread is small, indicating less variability. But if they are far apart, the spread is large, indicating more variability.

Related terms

Range: The range is a measure of spread that calculates the difference between the maximum and minimum values in a data set.

Interquartile Range (IQR): The IQR is another measure of spread that represents the range covered by the middle 50% of data. It's found by subtracting Q1 from Q3.

Variance: Variance is a statistical measure of spread that quantifies how much individual observations differ from their mean value. It considers all values in a dataset to calculate variability accurately.