AVEDEV

• How to use AVEDEV formula?
• Examples of using AVEDEV formula
• AVEDEV formula not working?
• Similar formulas to AVEDEV

Usage

Use the AVEDEV formula with the syntax shown below, it has 1 required parameter and 1 optional parameter:

=AVEDEV(value1, [value2, ...])

1. value1 (required):
   The first data point or range of data points.
2. value2, ... (optional):
   Additional data points or ranges of data points.

Examples

Calculating the average deviation of a set of data points

Suppose you have a set of data points and you want to measure how much they deviate from their mean. You can use the AVEDEV function to calculate the average deviation of the data points. This can help you understand how much variability or dispersion there is in the data.

Comparing the variability of two sets of data points

If you have two sets of data points and you want to compare their variability, you can use the AVEDEV function. The set of data points with a higher average deviation has more variability or dispersion than the set with a lower average deviation.

Measuring the accuracy of a forecast

When making a forecast, you want to know how accurate it is likely to be. One way to measure accuracy is to use the mean absolute deviation (MAD), which is calculated using the AVEDEV function. The MAD measures how much the forecasted values deviate from the actual values on average.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect range or cell reference

The AVEDEV formula requires at least one argument, which should be a range of cells or individual cell references. Ensure that the range or cell reference you are providing is correct.

Not selecting the correct range

If you want to calculate the average deviation of a range of cells, ensure that you select all the cells you want to include in the calculation. If you don't select the correct range, your result may be inaccurate.

Using text values in the range

The AVEDEV formula only works with numerical values. If you include text values in the range, they will be ignored and the result may be inaccurate.

Using a single value instead of a range

The AVEDEV formula requires at least one argument, which should be a range of cells or individual cell references. If you provide a single value instead, you will get an error.

Not understanding what the result means

The AVEDEV formula calculates the average of the absolute deviations of the values in the range from their arithmetic mean. It measures the variability of the data in the range. Make sure you understand what this means before using the formula.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to AVEDEV or are often used with it in a formula:

• AVERAGE

  The AVERAGE function calculates the average (arithmetic mean) of the values passed to it. It is commonly used to find the average of a range of cells containing numerical data.

• STDEV

  The STDEV function calculates the standard deviation of a set of numbers. It measures the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values from the average (mean) value. It is commonly used in statistics to determine the spread of a data set. The values can be supplied as individual cells, ranges, or constants.

• MEDIAN

  The MEDIAN function returns the median (middle) value of a set of numbers. It is commonly used to find the middle value in a range of data points. If the number of data points is even, it returns the average of the two middle values. This function can be useful in statistical analysis and data visualization.

• VAR

  The VAR formula calculates the variance of a set of numerical values. Variance is a measure of how spread out a set of data is in relation to the mean. This formula is commonly used in statistical analysis to measure the variability or diversity of a dataset.

• MAX

  The MAX function returns the maximum value from a range of cells or a set of supplied values. It is commonly used to find the largest value in a dataset.

Learn More

You can learn more about the AVEDEV Google Sheets function on Google Support.