The arithmetic mean of the absolute devia tions of a set of numbers from a measure of central tendency, such as the median. Taking absolute values is generally understood without being stated. The average deviation of the numbers 4, 6, and 10 about their median (6) is (2 + 0 + 4) ÷ 3 = 2. The average deviation is used in computing the coefficient of dispersion (COD).
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