Kurtosis A Term You Need to Know
Kurtosis is a measure of the peakedness or flatness of the probability distribution of a random variable. It describes the shape of the distribution, and how much the distribution deviates from a normal (bell-shaped) distribution. Kurtosis can be either positive, negative, or zero.
A data set with positive kurtosis has a more peaked distribution than a normal distribution, meaning that the values are more concentrated around the mean and the tails of the distribution are longer. On the other hand, a data set with negative kurtosis has a flatter distribution than a normal distribution, with values more spread out and the tails of the distribution being shorter. If the kurtosis of a data set is zero, it means that the distribution is normal.
Kurtosis is an important factor to consider when analyzing a data set, as it can affect the interpretation of other statistical measures such as the mean and standard deviation. Kurtosis can also be used to identify outliers in a data set, as a high value of kurtosis may indicate the presence of outliers.
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