This function calculates the standard deviation of an entire population based on the numerical values in a column within a list or database that match the specified criteria.
Syntax
DSTDEVP(database; field; criteria)
Arguments
- database (required): The cell range that constitutes your list or database.
- field (optional): Indicates which column the function will use.
- criteria (required): The cell range containing the field names and the filter criteria.
Background
The only difference between DSTDEVP() and DSTDEV() is that the DSTDEVP() calculation is based on the entire population and is not an estimate of the population value derived from a sample.
Example
As a wholesaler, you need to analyze your sales orders. You’ve already used the DSTDEV() function to calculate the standard deviation for a product’s sales based on a sample. Now, you want to calculate the standard deviation using the entire population.
Calculate the standard deviation based on the population of sales orders for a particular product in a specific country (see Figure below).
To effectively evaluate your findings, it’s also helpful to calculate the mean (see Figure below).
The calculation of the standard deviation based on the population and several criteria returns 289.32. This indicates that the sales of « Longlife Tofu » in the United States spread around the mean ($1,617.38) by $289.32.