Measures of Shape (of Frequency Distribution)
“Measures of shape are tools that can be used to describe the shape of a distribution of data.” (Black,
2010, p. 77)
I. Skewness
“A frequency distribution is symmetric when a vertical line can be drawn through the middle of a
graph of the distribution and the resulting halves are approximately mirror images. A frequency
distribution is uniform (or rectangular) when all entries, or classes, in the distribution have equal
or approximately equal frequencies. A uniform distribution is also symmetric. A frequency
distribution is skewed when the “tail” of the graph elongates more to one side than to the other.
A distribution is skewed left (negatively skewed) when its tail extends to the left. A distribution
is skewed right (positively skewed) when its tail extends to the right. When a distribution is
symmetric and unimodal, the mean, median, and mode are equal. When a distribution is skewed
left, the mean is less than the median and the median is usually less than the mode. When a
distribution is skewed right, the mean is greater than the median and the median is usually
greater than the mode. The mean will always fall in the direction in which the distribution is
skewed. For instance, when a distribution is skewed left, the mean is to the left of the median.”
(Larson & Farber, 2015, p. 73)
“A distribution of data in which the right half is a mirror image of the left half is said to be
symmetrical. Skewness is when a distribution is asymmetrical or lacks symmetry. The skewed
portion is the long, thin part of the curve. Many researchers use skewed distribution to denote
that the data are sparse at one end of the distribution and piled up at the other end. Instructors
sometimes refer to a grade distribution as skewed, meaning that few students scored at one end
of the grading scale, and many students scored at the other end. The concept of skewness helps
to understand the relationship of the mean, median, and mode. In a unimodal distribution
(distribution with a single peak or mode) that is skewed, the mode is the apex (high point) of the
curve and the median is the middle value. The mean tends to be located toward the tail of the
distribution, because the mean is particularly affected by the extreme values. A bell-shaped or
normal distribution with the mean, median, and mode all at the center of the distribution has no
skewness. Statistician Karl Pearson is credited with developing at least two coefficients of
skewness that can be used to determine the degree of skewness in a distribution. We present
one of these coefficients here, referred to as a Pearsonian coefficient of skewness. This
coefficient compares the mean and median in light of the magnitude of the standard deviation.”
(Black, 2010, pp. 77-78)
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= =
⎧ − ≤ ≤
( − ) ⎪
= > ⇒ " #$
⎨ = ⇒ $
⎪
⎩ < ⇒ & " #$
Notes
1. postively skewed = skewed right= skewed to the right
2. negatively skewed = skewed left= skewed to the left
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3. symmetric = not skewed = bell-shaped = mound-shaped
− > ⟹ (# + )
II. Kurtosis
∑( )(
= − ) < ⟹ # ( # $ + )
= ⟹ #( + )
“Kurtosis describes the amount of peakedness of a distribution. Distributions that are high
and thin are referred to as leptokurtic distributions. Distributions that are flat and spread
out are referred to as platykurtic distributions. Between these two types are distributions
that are more “normal” in shape, referred to as mesokurtic distributions.” (Black, 2010, p. 78)
Box-and-whisker plot (box plot): “A diagram that utilizes the upper and lower quartiles along with the
median and the two most extreme values to depict a distribution graphically. The box plot is determined
from five specific numbers: the median (Q2); the lower quartile (Q1); the upper quartile (Q3); the smallest
value in the distribution; and the largest value in the distribution.” (Black, 2010, p. 78-79)
Outliers
9:;<= 9>?>@ = AB − 1.5(FAG)
,--./ 012134/6.-7.4 8
HII<= 9>?>@ = AJ + 1.5(FAG)
9:;<= 9>?>@ = AB − 3(FAG)
LM3./ 012134/6.-7.4 8
HII<= 9>?>@ = AJ + 3(FAG)
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