Excel provides useful statistical functions for finding the standard deviation of a data set. In general, these standard deviation functions retrieve a set of values stored in a worksheet range and then make the expected calculation.
A standard deviation, just to remind readers, is a common measure of describing the spread of observations in a distribution. A standard deviation is related to another statistical measure, the variance. A standard deviation is equal to the square root of the variance.
Standard Deviation of a Sample with the STDEV Function
To find the standard deviation of a sample, ignoring logical values and text, use the STDEV function. This function has the following syntax:
=STDEV(data set range)
For example, to find the standard deviation in the worksheet containing a 10-game sample
of a bowler"s scores stored in the worksheet age B2:B11, you could enter:
=STDEV(B2:B:11)
Standard Deviation of a Sample with the STDEVA Function
To find the standard deviation of a sample, and include cells containing the logical value
TRUE as 1 and cells containing text or the logical value FALSE as 0 (zero), you use the
STDEVA function. This function has the following syntax:
=STDEVA(data set range)
Standard Deviation of a Population with the STDEVP Function
To find the standard deviation of a population, ignoring logical values and text, use the STDEVP function. This function has the following syntax:
=STDEVP(data set range)
Standard Deviation of a Population with the STDEVPA Function
Finally, to find the standard deviation of a population, and include cells containing the logical value TRUE as 1 and cells containing text or the logical value FALSE as 0 (zero), use the STDEVPA function. This function has the following syntax:
=STDEVPA(data set range)
A Final Note About the Data Set Range Argument
One other, final point is worth making: You can include multiple worksheet ranges as your data set range. For example, if you were calculating the standard deviation of a population using the STDEVP function and had your data stored in several different worksheet ranges, your function might look like this:
=STDEVP(B2:B:11,U81:I812,Z100:Z200)