Measures of Shape: Skewness and Kurtosis

The measure of central tendency and measure of dispersion can describe the distribution but
they are not sufficient to describe the nature of the distribution. Measures of Shape as a
descriptive statistic can help us to determine how numbers of data points in a data set are
distributed. It helps us to find the patterns that might be hidden and are easily discernible
once the data is displayed on graphs.
The form of data can be understood by looking at the distribution of data elements across the
space. The distribution can be classified as Symmetrical distribution (e.g., Normal
Distribution) and Asymmetrical Distribution (Skewed Distribution).

Symmetrical Distribution: The distribution of data set is symmetric if it looks the

same to the left and right of the centre point. A normal distribution is a true symmetric
distribution of observed values. When a histogram is constructed on values that are normally
distributed, the shape of columns forms a symmetrical bell shape. This is why this
distribution is also known as a 'normal curve' or 'bell curve'.

The following graph is an example of a normal distribution.

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE

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Key features of the normal distribution:

i. symmetrical shape or Bell Shape

ii. mode, median and mean are the same and are together in the centre of the
curve. i.e. mode= median=mean
iii. there can only be one mode (i.e. there is only one value which is most
frequently observed)
iv. most of the data are clustered around the centre, while the more extreme
values on either side of the centre become less rare as the distance from the
centre increases (i.e. About 68% of values lie within one standard deviation (σ)
away from the mean; about 95% of the values lie within two standard
deviations; and about 99.7% are within three standard deviations. This is
known as the empirical rule or the 3-sigma rule.
Asymmetric Distribution

If the sample data collected is deliberately biased and includes data points with specific
characteristics, this can cause the distribution to be Asymmetrical. In an asymmetrical
distribution the two sides will not be mirror images of each other.
For this purpose, we use other two statistical measures that compare the shape to the normal
curve called Skewness and Kurtosis. Skewness and Kurtosis are the two important
characteristics of distribution that are studied in descriptive statistics
a). SKEWNESS:
Skewness can be defined as a statistical measure that describes the lack of symmetry or
asymmetry in the probability distribution of a dataset. It quantifies the degree to which the
data deviates from a perfectly symmetrical distribution, such as a normal (bell-shaped)
distribution. Skewness is a valuable statistical term because it provides insight into the shape
and nature of a dataset’s distribution. For example, understanding whether a dataset is
positively or negatively skewed can be important in various fields, including finance,
economics, and data analysis, as it can impact the interpretation of data and the choice of
statistical techniques.
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Types of Skewness
Positive skewness and negative skewness are two different ways that a dataset’s distribution
can deviate from perfect symmetry (a normal distribution). They describe the direction of the
skew or asymmetry in the data.

1. Positive Skewness (Right Skew)

In a positively skewed distribution, the tail on the right side (the larger values) is longer than
the tail on the left side (the smaller values). This means that the majority of data points are
concentrated on the left side of the distribution, and there are some extreme values on the
right side. In the case of a positively skewed dataset, Mean > Median > Mode
Examples of positively skewed data include income distribution (where most people earn a
moderate income, but a few earn extremely high incomes), exam scores (where most students
score in a certain range, but a few score exceptionally high), and stock market returns (where
most days have modest returns, but a few days may have very high returns).

2. Negative Skewness (Left Skew)

In a negatively skewed distribution, the tail on the left side (the smaller values) is longer than
the tail on the right side (the larger values). This implies that most of the data points are
concentrated on the right side of the distribution, with a few extreme values on the left side.
In the case of a negatively skewed dataset, Mean < Median < Mode
For example, the symmetrical and skewed distributions are shown by curves as:

Measurement of Skewness

I. Karl Pearson’s Measure

Karl Pearson’s Measure of Skewness uses the mean, median, and standard deviation of the
given data set to quantify the asymmetry or lack of symmetry in the distribution. It is a

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dimensionless number that provides valuable insights into the shape of a dataset’s
distribution.

1. Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Skewness

1. With respect to Mean and Mode:

(𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 − 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒)
𝑆𝑘 =
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝜎)

2. If mode is not defined for a distribution, we cannot find Sk. But empirical
relation between mean, median and mode states that, for a moderately symmetrical
distribution, we have Mean - Mode ≈ 3 (Mean - Median). Hence Karl Pearson's
coefficient of skewness is defined in terms of median as:
3(𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 − 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛)
𝑆𝑘 =
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝜎)

Coefficient of Karl Pearson’s Measure

a) if 𝑆𝑘 = 0, it indicates a perfectly symmetric distribution (normal
distribution) where the data is evenly balanced on both sides of the
mean.
b) If 𝑆𝑘 > 0, it suggests a positively skewed distribution where the tail on
the right side is longer or fatter, and the majority of data points are
concentrated on the left side of the mean.
c) If 𝑆𝑘 < 0, it indicates a negatively skewed distribution where the tail on
the left side is longer or fatter, and the majority of data points are
concentrated on the right side of the mean.
Example of Karl Pearson’s Measure:
Calculate Pearson’s skewness coefficient for exam scores of 10 random
sample of students in STA 131 class:
85, 88, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 100, 100, 100.
Solution:
Step 1: Calculate the mean

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 ∑ 𝑥 85 + 88 + 92 + 94 + 96 + 98 + 100 + 100 + 100 + 100
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛(𝑋̅ ) = =
𝑛 10
∑ 𝑥 953
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛(𝑋̅ ) = = = 95.3
𝑛 10
Step 2: Calculate the Median
Since N= 10 ;
Arrange the data in ascending order
85, 88, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 100, 100, 100
𝑋𝑛 + 𝑋𝑛+1 𝑋10 + 𝑋10+1 𝑋5 + 𝑋6
2 2 2 2
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = = =
2 2 2
The median is the average of the 5th and 6th values when sorted in
ascending order:
96 + 98 194
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = = = 97
2 2
Step 3: Calculate the sample standard deviation;
The sample variance is given by
1
𝑆2 = ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑛−1
And the standard deviation

1
𝑆=√ ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑛−1

1 (85 − 97)2 + ⋯ + (100 − 97)2 268.1

2
𝑠 = ̅ 2
∑(𝑋 − 𝑋) = = = 26.79
𝑛−1 10 − 1 9

𝑆 = √26.79 = 5.18
Step 4. Calculate the mode
It is clear from the data set that 100 is the most frequently occurring value in
the data. Hence, mode of given data is 100.
Pearson’s skewness coefficient
1. With respect to Mean and Median:
3(𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 − 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛) 3[95.3 − 97]
𝑆𝑘 = = = −0.9846
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝜎) 5.18

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 2. With respect to Mean and Mode:
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 − 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑒 95.3 − 100
𝑆𝑘 = = = −0.9073
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝜎) 5.18

2. Bowley’s Measure of Skewness

Bowley’s Skewness Coefficient, named after the British economist Arthur Lyon Bowley, is a
statistical measure used to assess the skewness or asymmetry in a probability distribution.
Unlike some other skewness measures that rely on moments or deviations from the mean,
Bowley’s Skewness Coefficient is based on quartiles. This coefficient provides a simple and
intuitive way to understand the direction and magnitude of skewness in a dataset. Bowley’s
Skewness Coefficient is especially useful when dealing with data that may not follow a
normal distribution or when a robust measure of skewness is required.

𝑄1 + 𝑄3 − 2𝑄2
𝐵𝑠 =
𝑄3 − 𝑄1
Coefficient of Bowley’s Measure
a) If 𝐵𝑠 = 0, the distribution is perfectly symmetric about the mean (no
skewness).
b) If 𝐵𝑠 < 0, the distribution is negatively skewed (left-skewed), meaning the
tail on the left side of the distribution is longer or heavier.
c) If 𝐵𝑠 > 0, the distribution is positively skewed (right-skewed), indicating
that the tail on the right side of the distribution is longer or heavier.

Example of Bowley’s Measure:

Calculate Bowley’s Measure of Skewness for the following dataset
representing the ages of a group of people in a sample:
20, 24, 28, 32, 35, 40, 42, 45, 50.

Solution:
Since N= 9;
Step 1: Calculate the median (Q2)
Arrange the data in ascending order
20, 24, 28, 32, 35, 40, 42, 45, 50.
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = 𝑄2 = 𝑋𝑛+1 = 𝑋5
2

The median is the 5th value when sorted in ascending order:

𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 = 𝑄2 = 35

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Step 2: Calculate the first quartile (Q1)

(𝑛 + 1) 10
𝑄1 = = = 2.5𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
4 4
𝑄1 = 2𝑛𝑑 + 0.5(3𝑟𝑑 − 2𝑛𝑑 ) = 24 + 0.5(28 − 24)
𝑄1 = 24 + 2 = 26
𝑄1 = 26

Step 3: Calculate the third quartile (Q3)

To find Q3, consider the values to the right of the median: 40, 42, 45, 50.

3(𝑛 + 1) 30
𝑄3 = = = 7.5𝑡ℎ 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
4 4
𝑄3 = 7𝑡ℎ + 0.5(8𝑡ℎ − 7𝑡ℎ) = 42 + 0.5(45 − 42)
𝑄3 = 42 + 1.5 = 43.5
𝑄3 = 43.5

Step 4: Substitute the above values in the formula

𝑄1 + 𝑄3 − 2𝑄2 26 + 43.5 − 2(35)

𝐵𝑠 = = = −0.02857
𝑄3 − 𝑄1 43.5 − 26

Interpretation: Since B is negative (B < 0), the distribution is negatively

skewed (left-skewed). This means that the tail of the distribution is longer on
the left side, indicating that there may be outliers or high values on the right
side of the data.
3. MEASURE OF SKEWNESS BY METHOD OF MOMENT
The skewness of n observations 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … . . , 𝑥𝑛 defined as:
̅) 3
𝑀3 ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋 𝑀3
𝑆𝑘 = 3 = 3
= 3
𝜎 𝑁×𝜎 (√𝑀2 )
Population standard deviation

1
𝜎 = √ ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑛

Third Central Moment

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 1 ̅ )3
𝑀3 = ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋
𝑛

And the skewness for frequency distribution data is given as:

̅ )3
∑ 𝑓 (𝑋 − 𝑋 𝑀3 𝑀3
𝑆𝑘 = = 3 = 3 ;
𝑁 × 𝜎3 (√𝜎 2 ) (√𝑀2 )

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑁 = ∑ 𝑓

1
𝜎 = √ ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑛

̅ )3
∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋
𝑀3 =
∑𝑓
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀3 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛.
Interpretation of Skewness:
• For skewness values between -0.5 and 0.5, the data exhibit approximate
symmetry.
• Skewness values within the range of -1 and -0.5 (negative skewed) or 0.5 and
1(positive skewed) indicate slightly skewed data distributions.
• Data with skewness values less than -1 (negative skewed) or greater than 1
(positive skewed) are considered highly skewed.

KURTOSIS:
Kurtosis is a statistical measure that quantifies the shape of a probability distribution. It
provides information about the tails and peakedness of the distribution compared to a normal
distribution. The measure of kurtosis is very helpful in the selection of an appropriate
average. For example, for normal distribution, mean is most appropriate; for a leptokurtic
distribution, median is most appropriate; and for platykurtic distribution, the quartile range is
most appropriate.

MEASURE OF KURTOSIS BY METHOD OF MOMENT

The Kurtosis of n observations 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … . . , 𝑥𝑛 defined as:
𝑀4 ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4
𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 = 4 =
𝜎 𝑁 × 𝜎4

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 1
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝜎 = √ ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑁
1
𝑀4 = ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅ )4
𝑁
And the Kurtosis for frequency distribution data is given as:
𝑀4 𝑀4 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4
𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 = 4 = 4 =
𝜎 (√𝑀2 ) 𝑁 × 𝜎4

∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅ )2
𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝜎 = √
∑𝑓

∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4
𝑀4 =
∑𝑓
Karl Pearson classified curves into three types on the basis of the shape of their peaks. These
are Mesokurtic, leptokurtic and platykurtic. These three types of curves are shown in
figure below:

1. Mesokurtic (Kurtosis = 3)

Mesokurtic is the same as the normal distribution, which means kurtosis is near 0. The value

of Kurtosis is equal or approximately 3. In Mesokurtic, distributions are moderate in breadth,

and curves are a medium peaked height.

2. Leptokurtic (Kurtosis > 3)

Leptokurtic has very long and thick tails, which means there are more chances of outliers.
Positive values of kurtosis indicate that distribution is peaked and possesses thick tails.
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Extremely positive kurtosis indicates a distribution where more numbers are located in the
tails of the distribution instead of around the mean.
3. Platykurtic (Kurtosis < 3)
Platykurtic having a thin tail and stretched around the centre means. Most data points are
present in high proximity to the mean. A platykurtic distribution is flatter (less peaked) when
compared with the normal distribution.
Excess Kurtosis
In statistics and probability theory, researchers use excess kurtosis to compare the kurtosis
coefficient with that of a normal distribution. Excess kurtosis can be positive (Leptokurtic
distribution), negative (Platykurtic distribution), or near zero (Mesokurtic distribution). Since
normal distributions have a kurtosis of 3, excess kurtosis is calculated by subtracting 3 from
the estimate of kurtosis.
Excess kurtosis = Kurtosis – 3
Types of Excess Kurtosis
1. Leptokurtic or heavy-tailed distribution (kurtosis more than normal distribution).
2. Mesokurtic (kurtosis same as the normal distribution).
3. Platykurtic or short-tailed distribution (kurtosis less than normal distribution).

Key Differences Between Skewness and Kurtosis

This is the fundamental differences between skewness and kurtosis:

1- The characteristic of a frequency distribution that ascertains its symmetry about the mean is
called skewness. On the other hand, Kurtosis means the relative pointedness of the standard
bell curve, defined by the frequency distribution.
2- Skewness is a measure of the degree of lop-sidedness in the frequency distribution.
Conversely, kurtosis is a measure of degree of tailedness in the frequency distribution.
3- Skewness is an indicator of lack of symmetry, i.e. both left and right sides of the curve are
unequal, with respect to the central point. As against this, kurtosis is a measure of data, that
is either peaked or flat, with respect to the probability distribution.
4- Skewness shows how much and in which direction, the values deviate from the mean? In
contrast, kurtosis explain how tall and sharp the central peak is.

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Examples: Calculate Skewness and Kurtosis from the following grouped data.
Class Interval 0 – 10 10 – 20 20 – 30 30 – 40 40 - 50 Total

Frequency 5 7 15 28 8 63

Solution:
class Mid-Point 𝐟𝐗 (𝐗 (𝐗 − 𝟐𝟗. 𝟐𝟗)𝟐
interval Frequency(f) (𝑿) − 𝟐𝟗. 𝟐𝟗)
0 - 10 5 5 25 -24.29 590.0041
10 - 20 7 15 105 -14.29 204.2041
20 - 30 15 25 375 -4.29 18.4041
30 - 40 28 35 980 5.71 32.6041
40 - 50 8 45 360 15.71 246.8041
Total ∑ 𝑓𝑋 =63 ------- ∑ 𝑓𝑋 -------- ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
= 1845;
= 1092.0205
Calculate the Mean
∑ 𝑓𝑋 1845
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛(𝑋̅) = = = 29.29
∑𝑓 63

𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)3 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4

2950.021 -71655.998 1740524
1429.429 -20426.536 291895.2
276.0615 -1184.3038 5080.663
912.9148 5212.7435 29764.77
1974.433 31018.339 487298.1

∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)3 ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4

= −57035.755;
= 7542.858 = 2554563

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Calculate the Population Standard deviation

∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2 7542.858

𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝜎 = √ =√
∑𝑓 63

𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = √119.7279 = 10.94

Calculate the third moment, 𝑀3
∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)3 −57035.755
𝑀3 = = = −905.33
∑𝑓 63
Calculate the forth moment, 𝑀4
∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4 2554563
𝑀4 = = = 40,548.62
∑𝑓 63
Now, 𝜎 = 10.94 ; 𝑀3 = −905.33 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀4 = 40,548.62
Calculate Skewness
𝑀3 −905.33 −905.33
𝑆𝑘 = = = = −0.69
𝜎 3 (10.94)3 1309.3386
The data is slightly negatively skewed
Calculate Kurtosis
𝑀4 40,548.62 40,548.62
𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 = = = = 2.83
𝜎4 (10.94)4 14324.1641
Since Kurtosis is less than 3, the distribution is platykurtic with thin tails and less peaked.
The skewness and Kurtosis for sample data is defined as:

𝑀3 ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)3
𝑆𝑘𝑒𝑤𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 3 =
𝜎 (𝑛 − 1) × 𝑆 3

𝑀4 ∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4
𝐾𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠 = 4 =
𝜎 (𝑛 − 1) × 𝑆 4
Where S is the sample standard deviation and its defined as:

∑(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2
𝑆= √
𝑛−1

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 TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

1. Given that 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … . . , 𝑥𝑛 is a random sample of size n is summarized as

follows:
𝟖 𝟖 𝟖
𝟐 ̅ )𝟐 = 𝟒𝟑. 𝟖𝟕𝟓
∑ 𝑿 = 𝟐𝟎𝟓 ; ∑ 𝑿 = 𝟓𝟐𝟗𝟕; ∑(𝑿 − 𝑿
𝒊=𝟏 𝒊=𝟏 𝒊=𝟏
𝟖 𝟖
̅ )𝟑 = 𝟓𝟖. 𝟏𝟐𝟑𝟏 ; ∑(𝑿 − 𝑿
∑(𝑿 − 𝑿 ̅ )𝟒 = 𝟓𝟎𝟐. 𝟖𝟐𝟓
𝒊=𝟏 𝒊=𝟏

2. The following measures were computed for a frequency distribution:

Mean = 50, coefficient of Variation = 35% and Karl Pearson's Coefficient of
Skewness = - 0.25. Compute Standard Deviation, Mode and Median of the
distribution.
3. . The data below represent the summaries of distributions of students mark in an
exam. Compute the moment coefficient of skewness and kurtosis and interpret the
results.
∑ 𝑓 = 50 ; ∑ 𝑓𝑥 = 2010; ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)2 = 5898

∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)3 = 21460.8 ; ∑ 𝑓(𝑋 − 𝑋̅)4 = 2491416

4. In an experiment, the height of 100 seedlings were measured to the nearest centimetre and
the results were recorded as below:
Heights(cm) 20 – 24 25- 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49
No of 3 19 25 20 18 15
Plants
Compute the Karl Pearson’s coefficient of Skewness and interpret the result.
5. Compute Bowley’s coefficient of Skewness of the following data set
47, 53, 62, 71, 83, 21, 43, 47, 41.
6. Compute Karl Pearson’s coefficient of Skewness of the following data set
36, 44, 86, 31, 37, 44, 86, 35, 60, 51
7. . The rainfall recorded in various places of five districts in a week are given below.

Compute the Bowley’s coefficient of Skewness for rainfall distribution data.

8. The first three moment of a distribution about the value 3 of a variable are 2,10 and 30
respectively. Obtain Mean, 𝑀2 , 𝑀3 and Skewness. Comment upon the nature of
skewness.

STA 131: MEASURES OF SHAPE: SKEWNESS AND KURTOSIS

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BY DR. R. B. AFOLAYAN