How To Calculate Skew: A Step-by-Step Guide

Skewness is a statistical measure that describes the degree of asymmetry in a distribution. It is a crucial concept in statistics and data analysis, as it helps to identify whether a dataset is symmetrical or skewed to one side. Skewness can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on the direction and degree of the skew.

Calculating skewness involves determining the degree of asymmetry in a distribution. Skewness can be measured using various methods, including Pearson's median skewness, momental skewness, and Fisher's skewness. Each of these methods has its own formula for calculating skewness, which takes into account different aspects of the distribution's shape. Understanding how to calculate skewness is essential for data analysts, statisticians, and anyone who works with data, as it helps to identify patterns and trends in the data that may not be immediately apparent.

Understanding Skewness

Definition of Skewness

Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of a distribution. It is a statistical concept that describes the degree of asymmetry in a set of data. A distribution is said to be symmetric if the left and right sides of the distribution are mirror images of each other. In contrast, a distribution is said to be skewed if one tail is longer than the other. Skewness is a measure of the degree and direction of this skew.

Skewness can have a range of values from negative to positive. A negative skewness indicates that the tail on the left side of the distribution is longer or fatter than the tail on the right side. A positive skewness indicates that the tail on the right side of the distribution is longer or fatter than the tail on the left side. A skewness of zero indicates that the distribution is perfectly symmetric.

Types of Skewness

There are three types of skewness: left-skewed, right-skewed, and zero-skewed. A left-skewed distribution is also known as a negatively skewed distribution. In this type of distribution, the tail on the left side of the distribution is longer or fatter than the tail on the right side. A right-skewed distribution is also known as a positively skewed distribution. In this type of distribution, the tail on the right side of the distribution is longer or fatter than the tail on the left side. A zero-skewed distribution is perfectly symmetric.

Understanding skewness is important in data analysis because it can provide insights into the underlying data. For example, a right-skewed distribution may indicate that there are outliers on the right side of the distribution that are pulling the mean to the right. In contrast, a left-skewed distribution may indicate that there are outliers on the left side of the distribution that are pulling the mean to the left. By understanding the skewness of a distribution, analysts can make more informed decisions about how to analyze and interpret the data.

Calculating Skewness

Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of a probability distribution. It indicates the degree to which a data set deviates from the normal distribution. Positive skewness indicates that the tail of the distribution is longer on the right side than on the left side, while negative skewness indicates that the tail is longer on the left side than on the right side.

The Formula for Skewness

There are several formulas for calculating skewness, but the most commonly used formula is Pearson's moment coefficient of skewness. Pearson's moment coefficient of skewness is defined as:

where:

• 
  
• N is the sample size
• 
  
• x̄ is the sample mean
• 
  
• s is the sample standard deviation
• 
  
• xi is the ith observation
• 
  

To calculate skewness using this formula, simply substitute the values of N, x̄, s, and xi into the formula and solve for γ1.

Sample vs Population Skewness

It is important to note that there are two types of skewness: sample skewness and population skewness. Sample skewness is calculated using a sample of data, while population skewness is calculated using all the data in a population.

When calculating sample skewness, it is important to use the corrected sample standard deviation, which is defined as:

where:

• 
  
• N is the sample size
• 
  
• x̄ is the sample mean
• 
  
• xi is the ith observation
• 
  

Using the corrected sample standard deviation ensures that the sample skewness is an unbiased estimator of the population skewness.

In summary, skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of a probability distribution, which indicates the degree to which a data set deviates from the normal distribution. Pearson's moment coefficient of skewness is the most commonly used formula for calculating skewness, and it is important to use the corrected sample standard deviation when calculating sample skewness to ensure that the sample skewness is an unbiased estimator of the population skewness.

Interpreting Skewness Values

Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of a distribution. It measures the extent to which the values of a variable are distributed around the mean. A perfectly symmetrical distribution has a skewness of zero. Positive skewness indicates that the tail of the distribution is longer on the right side than on the left side, while negative skewness indicates that the tail of the distribution is longer on the left side than on the right side.

Symmetrical Distribution

When a distribution is symmetrical, the mean, median, and mode are equal. The skewness of a symmetrical distribution is zero. A symmetrical distribution is also known as a bell-shaped distribution or a normal distribution. In a normal distribution, 68% of the values fall within one standard deviation of the mean, 95% of the values fall within two standard deviations of the mean, and 99.7% of the values fall within three standard deviations of the mean.

Positive Skewness

Positive skewness occurs when the tail of the distribution is longer on the right side than on the left side. In a positively skewed distribution, the mean is greater than the median, and the mode is less than the median. A positively skewed distribution is also known as a right-skewed distribution. Examples of positively skewed distributions include income distribution, where a few individuals have extremely high incomes, and exam scores, where a few students get very high scores.

Negative Skewness

Negative skewness occurs when the tail of the distribution is longer on the left side than on the right side. In a negatively skewed distribution, the mean is less than the median, and the mode is greater than the median. A negatively skewed distribution is also known as a left-skewed distribution. Examples of negatively skewed distributions include the distribution of ages of death, where most people die at an old age, and the distribution of reaction times, where most people have fast reaction times.

Data Collection and Preparation

Gathering Data

Before calculating skewness, it is important to gather relevant data. The data can be collected from various sources, such as surveys, experiments, or observations. It is crucial to ensure that the data is representative of the population of interest.

To ensure that the data is representative, it is recommended to use random sampling. This means that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample. It is also important to ensure that the sample size is large enough to accurately represent the population.

Once the data has been collected, it is important to check for any outliers or errors. Outliers are data points that are significantly different from the rest of the data and can skew the results. Errors can occur due to data entry mistakes or measurement errors.

Cleaning Data

After gathering the data, it is important to clean it to ensure that it is ready for analysis. This involves checking for missing data, correcting errors, and removing outliers if necessary.

Missing data can be a common problem in data collection. If there are missing data points, it is important to decide how to handle them. One approach is to remove any data points with missing values, but this can lead to a loss of information. Another approach is to impute the missing values using statistical methods.

Correcting errors is also important to ensure that the data is accurate. This can involve checking for data entry mistakes or measurement errors and correcting them if necessary.

Removing outliers can be necessary if they are significantly different from the rest of the data and are skewing the results. However, it is important to carefully consider whether outliers should be removed and the impact this may have on the results.

Overall, gathering and cleaning data is an important step in preparing data for skewness analysis. By ensuring that the data is representative and free from errors, accurate results can be obtained.

Software Tools for Skewness Calculation

Skewness calculation can be done manually, but there are several software tools available that can make the process easier and faster. The two main categories of software tools for skewness calculation are spreadsheet programs and statistical software.

Spreadsheet Programs

Spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc have built-in functions for calculating skewness. In Excel, for example, the SKEW and SKEWP functions can be used to calculate skewness for a given set of data. These functions take the data as input and return the skewness value.

To use the SKEW function in Excel, the user needs to select the cell where the result will be displayed and enter the formula "=SKEW(data_range)", where "data_range" is the range of cells containing the data. The SKEWP function is similar, but it assumes that the data is a sample from a larger population, and it uses a slightly different formula.

Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc have similar functions for calculating skewness, with slightly different syntax. Overall, spreadsheet programs are a good choice for simple skewness calculations, as they are widely available and easy to use.

Statistical Software

Statistical software such as R, SAS, and SPSS also have functions for calculating skewness, as well as other statistical measures. These software tools are more powerful than spreadsheet programs, and they can handle larger datasets and more complex analyses.

To calculate skewness in R, for example, the user can use the skewness function from the moments package. The syntax is similar to that of spreadsheet programs, but the user needs to load the package first. Other statistical software tools have similar functions for calculating skewness, with different syntax and options.

Statistical software is a good choice for more complex skewness calculations, such as those involving multiple variables or non-normal distributions. However, they require more expertise to use, and they may not be available to everyone.

Real-World Applications of Skewness Analysis

Skewness is a statistical concept that has real-world applications in various fields. In finance, skewness analysis is used to measure the risk and return of investment portfolios. Skewness is also used in economics to analyze the distribution of income and wealth. In social sciences, skewness is used to study the distribution of various variables such as income, age, education, and health.

Skewness analysis can help in identifying the outliers in the data, which are the values that are significantly different from the rest of the data. Outliers can have a significant impact on the results of statistical analysis and can distort the interpretation of the data. Skewness analysis can also help in identifying the shape of the distribution of the data, which can provide insights into the underlying process that generates the data.

Skewness analysis is also used in machine learning and data science to preprocess the data before applying various statistical and machine learning algorithms. Skewness can be used to transform the data into a more normal distribution, which can improve the performance of the algorithms.

In summary, skewness analysis has real-world applications in finance, economics, social sciences, and data science. It can help in identifying outliers, understanding the shape of the data distribution, and preprocessing the data for statistical and machine learning analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process for calculating skewness in Excel?

To calculate skewness in Excel, you can use the SKEW function. This function takes a range of cells as input and returns the skewness of the distribution represented by the data in the range. The formula for the SKEW function is SKEW(range).

Can skewness be determined from the mean and standard deviation?

Skewness cannot be determined solely from the mean and standard deviation of a distribution. However, if the distribution is approximately normal, then a skewness of zero can be inferred from the mean and standard deviation.

What steps are involved in computing skewness and kurtosis?

To compute skewness and kurtosis, you need to calculate the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of the distribution. The formula for skewness is the third standardized moment, which is the sum of the cubed deviations from the mean divided by the standard deviation cubed. The formula for kurtosis is the fourth standardized moment, which is the extra lump sum mortgage payment calculator of the fourth powers of the deviations from the mean divided by the standard deviation to the fourth power.

How do you calculate skewness for grouped data?

To calculate skewness for grouped data, you first need to calculate the mean, median, and standard deviation of the distribution. Then, you can use the formula for skewness to calculate the skewness of the distribution.

In what ways can you identify the direction of data skew?

You can identify the direction of data skew by examining the relationship between the mean, median, and mode of the distribution. If the mean is greater than the median, then the distribution is positively skewed. If the mean is less than the median, then the distribution is negatively skewed.

What is the relationship between mean, median, and skewness?

The mean, median, and skewness are all measures of central tendency and distribution shape. The mean is influenced by extreme values and is sensitive to skewness, while the median is not. Skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of the distribution. A positively skewed distribution has a mean greater than the median, while a negatively skewed distribution has a mean less than the median.