Coefficient of Standard Deviation

You already know what standard deviation is. But what do we understand by the coefficient of standard deviation?

• How is it calculated?
• What is the difference between standard deviation and its coefficient?

Let's discuss and reach a conclusion. There is a difference between them: standard deviation is an absolute measure of dispersion. The coefficient of standard deviation is a relative measure based on standard deviation.

To find the coefficient of standard deviation we use the following formula.

Where: σ = standard deviation, X = mean (average)

A smaller coefficient of standard deviation means greater uniformity or stability in the data distribution. Conversely, a larger coefficient means less uniformity or more dispersion.

Therefore, while comparing different data sets, the data with the smaller coefficient of standard deviation is considered better (more uniform).