ERIC Number: EJ1166666
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jun
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0196-5042
EISSN: N/A
Visualizing the Sample Standard Deviation
Sarkar, Jyotirmoy; Rashid, Mamunur
Educational Research Quarterly, v40 n4 p45-61 Jun 2017
The standard deviation (SD) of a random sample is defined as the square-root of the sample variance, which is the "mean" squared deviation of the sample observations from the sample mean. Here, we interpret the sample SD as the square-root of twice the mean square of all pairwise half deviations between any two sample observations. This interpretation leads to a geometric visualization of the sample SD, and a more elementary explanation as to why the denominator in the sample variance is one less than the sample size.
Descriptors: Sample Size, Sampling, Visualization, Geometric Concepts, Mathematical Formulas, Mathematical Models, Demonstrations (Educational), Research Methodology
Behavioral Research Press. Grambling State University, Math Department, P.O. Box 1191, Grambling, LA 71245. Tel: 318-274-2425; Web site: http://erquarterly.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A