Quartile Deviation for ungrouped data
Quartile Deviation is given by
$QD = \dfrac{Q_3-Q_1}{2}$
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation is given by
Coefficient of $QD = \dfrac{Q_3-Q_1}{Q_3+Q_1}$
where
- $Q_1$ is the first quartile
- $Q_3$ is the third quartile
The formula for $i^{th}$ quartile is
$Q_i =$ Value of $\bigg(\dfrac{i(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th}$ observation, $i=1,2,3$
where $n$ is the total number of observations.
Example 1
A random sample of 15 patients yielded the following data on the length of stay (in days) in the hospital.
5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 10, 14, 12, 10, 13, 13, 9, 8, 10, 12.
Find quartile deviation and coefficient of quartile deviation.
Solution
The formula for $i^{th}$ quartile is
$Q_i =$ Value of $\bigg(\dfrac{i(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th}$ observation, $i=1,2,3$
where $n$ is the total number of observations.
Arrange the data in ascending order
5, 6, 8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12, 12, 13, 13, 14, 15
First Quartile $Q_1$
The first quartle $Q_1$ can be computed as follows:
$$ \begin{aligned} Q_{1} &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{1(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{1(15+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{Value of }\big(4\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=9 \text{ days}. \end{aligned} $$
Thus, $25$ % of the patients had length of stay in the hospital less than or equal to $9$ days.
Third Quartile $Q_3$
The third quartile $Q_3$ can be computed as follows:
$$ \begin{aligned} Q_{3} &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{3(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{3(15+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{Value of }\big(12\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=13 \text{ days}. \end{aligned} $$
Thus, $75$ % of the patients had length of stay in the hospital less than or equal to $13$ days.
Quartile Deviation
The quartile deviation is
$$ \begin{aligned} QD &= \frac{Q_3 - Q_1}{2}\\ &= \frac{13 - 9}{2}\\ &= \frac{4}{2}\\ &=2 \text{ days}. \end{aligned} $$
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
The coefficient of quartile deviation is
$$ \begin{aligned} \text{Coefficient of }QD &= \frac{Q_3 - Q_1}{Q_3+Q_1}\\ &= \frac{13 - 9}{13+9}\\ &= \frac{4}{22}\\ &=0.1818. \end{aligned} $$
Example 2
Blood sugar level (in mg/dl) of a sample of 20 patients admitted to the hospitals are as follows:
75,89,72,78,87, 85, 73, 75, 97, 87, 84, 76,73,79,99,86,83,76,78,73.
Find quartile deviation and coefficient of quartile deviation.
Solution
The formula for $i^{th}$ quartile is
$Q_i =$ Value of $\bigg(\dfrac{i(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th}$ observation, $i=1,2,3$
where $n$ is the total number of observations.
Arrange the data in ascending order
72, 73, 73, 73, 75, 75, 76, 76, 78, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 97, 99
First Quartile $Q_1$
The first quartle $Q_1$ can be computed as follows:
$$ \begin{aligned} Q_{1} &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{1(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{1(20+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{ Value of }\big(5.25\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{Value of }\big(5\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}+0.25 \big(\text{Value of } \big(6\big)^{th}\text{ obs.}-\text{Value of }\big(5\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\big)\\ &=75+0.25\big(75 -75\big)\\ &=75 \text{ mg/dl}. \end{aligned} $$
Thus, $25$ % of the patients had blood sugar level less than or equal to $75$ mg/dl.
Third Quartile $Q_3$
The third quartile $Q_3$ can be computed as follows:
$$ \begin{aligned} Q_{3} &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{3(n+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &=\text{Value of }\bigg(\dfrac{3(20+1)}{4}\bigg)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{ Value of }\big(15.75\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\\ &= \text{Value of }\big(15\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}+0.75 \big(\text{Value of } \big(16\big)^{th}\text{ obs.}-\text{Value of }\big(15\big)^{th} \text{ obs.}\big)\\ &=84+0.75\big(85 -84\big)\\ &=84.75 \text{ mg/dl}. \end{aligned} $$
Thus, $75$ % of the patients had blood sugar level less than or equal to $84.75$ mg/dl.
Quartile Deviation
The quartile deviation is
$$ \begin{aligned} QD &= \frac{Q_3 - Q_1}{2}\\ &= \frac{84.75 - 75}{2}\\ &= \frac{9.75}{2}\\ &=4.875\text{ mg/dl}. \end{aligned} $$
Coefficient of Quartile Deviation
The coefficient of quartile deviation is
$$ \begin{aligned} \text{Coefficient of }QD &= \frac{Q_3 - Q_1}{Q_3+Q_1}\\ &= \frac{84.75 - 75}{84.75+75}\\ &= \frac{9.75}{159.75}\\ &=0.061. \end{aligned} $$
