mean deviation
- noun
- /miːn ˌdiːviˈeɪʃən/
- Specialized
:
desviación media
- In statistics, the mean deviation is used to measure the dispersion of data points around the mean.
Examples
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In our analysis, mean deviations were based on the absolute value of the difference between scores.
Academic text (1996) -
Figure 2 presents the mean deviations in IOI (IOI SD) in the four blocks of training, the retest, and the transfer test for the 12 nonpianists.
Academic text (2011) -
But I'm basically saying OK, all of those contribute to group mean deviations in the total total deviations in my data.
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The mean deviation gives us an idea of how much the scores vary from the average score.
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To find the mean deviation, you subtract the mean from each value and average the absolute differences.
Synonyms
The average distance of each number from the group's average
A number that shows the typical distance of numbers in a set from their middle value
A number that shows how far numbers usually are from the middle value
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'mean' (average) with 'deviation' (a difference or departure), so its sense 'the average of the deviations' is directly derivable from the constituents. Although the term is somewhat technical, the compositional structure is clear and parallels formulations in other languages, so learners who know both words should grasp the basic idea.
Etymology
Mean deviation comes from the words mean ('average') and deviation ('moving away'). Imagine the average point of a group of numbers and measure how far each number is from that point, then take the average of those distances — that's why the term means the typical 'distance' from the average and does not care if numbers are above or below it.
