Question

What does mean absolute deviation (MAD) measure? Explain how to find the MAD for a set of data.

Answer 1

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

The MAD is a measure of variability. Find the mean of the data set. Find the distance from the mean for each data value. Find a means of the distances.

Answer 2

Mean Absolute Deviation is a quantity of measurement that gives you an idea how far, on average, are the data points deviating from the mean. Its equation is

MAD = ∑|x - μ| /  N, where

x is a single data point
μ is the mean of the data set
N is the total number of data points

Suppose, a data set consist of the following: 4, 7, 5, 9, 6, 7, 7, 4. Let's solve first for the mean:

μ = (4+7+5+9+6+7+7+4)/8 = 6.125

Then, the MAD is equal to:

MAD = (|4 - 6.125| + |7 - 6.125| +|5 - 6.125| +|9 - 6.125| +|6 - 6.125| +|7 - 6.125| +|7 - 6.125| +|4 - 6.125|) ÷ 8
MAD = 11/8
MAD = 1.375