std

std(a, b, c, ...)

std(A)

std(A, dimension)

std(A, normalization)

std(A, dimension, normalization)

Try it yourself:

@1	std(2, 4, 6)
@2	std([2, 4, 6, 8])
@3	std([2, 4, 6, 8], "uncorrected")
@4	std([2, 4, 6, 8], "biased")
@5	std([1, 2, 3; 4, 5, 6])

std(): Standard Deviation

std() measures how widely values vary around their mean. A small standard deviation indicates tightly clustered data; a large value indicates greater spread.

Population or sample

Choose the appropriate normalization for a full population versus a sample. Pair std with mean() for interpretation and variance(), whose square root is standard deviation. Use mad() when a less outlier-sensitive spread measure is useful.

Data should use consistent units, and missing values should be handled before calculation. Standard deviation shares the input’s units, unlike variance.

All functions