Number of goals scored in one season at Whitmore College soccer games follows: 0, 0, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4

Which measure of variability—IQR or MAD— best describes the spread of the dataset?

1 answer

In this case, the Interquartile Range (IQR) would be the best measure of variability to describe the spread of the dataset. The IQR considers the middle 50% of the data and is less affected by extreme values, making it a more appropriate measure of spread for this dataset of goals scored. Unlike the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD), which focuses on the absolute deviation of each data point from the median, the IQR provides a more robust measure of variability in this scenario.