Which measure of dispersion is most important and most commonly used in social science research?
A)the range
B)the average deviation
C)the median
D)the standard deviation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The standard deviation is the most important and commonly used measure of dispersion in social science research. It provides an indication of how spread out the data values are from the mean, and can be used to make inferences about the population from which the sample was drawn. It also plays an important role in hypothesis testing and confidence interval construction. While the range, average deviation, and median are also measures of dispersion, they are less precise and informative than the standard deviation.

Which Measure of Dispersion Is Most Important and Most Commonly