What statistical measure indicates the dispersion in a distribution?

The statistical measure that indicates the dispersion in a distribution is standard deviation. This metric quantifies how much the individual data points in a set differ from the mean (average) of that set. In other words, standard deviation provides insights into the spread of the values; a low standard deviation means that the data points tend to be close to the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a wider range of values.

This feature is critical in various analyses as it allows for the understanding of variability within the data. For instance, in legal management, knowing how much variation exists in case processing times or billable hours can inform better resource allocation strategies and performance evaluation.

The other statistical measures mentioned have different purposes: the mean provides a central value, the mode identifies the most frequently occurring value, and the median determines the midpoint of a data set when ordered. While these measures are essential for summarizing data, they do not directly convey information about the spread or dispersion within the distribution, which is why standard deviation is specifically suited for that role.