How to Calculate Mean, Standard Deviation, and Standard Error
Calculate the standard error (of the mean).
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Calculate the standard error (of the mean).
This represents how well the sample mean approximates the population mean.
The larger the sample, the smaller the standard error, and the closer the sample mean approximates the population mean.
Do this by dividing the standard deviation by the square root of N, the sample size.
Standard error = σ/sqrt(n) So for the example above, if this were a sampling of 5 students from a class of 50 and the 50 students had a standard deviation of 17 (σ = 21), the standard error = 17/sqrt(5) =
7.6.
Detailed Guide
This represents how well the sample mean approximates the population mean.
The larger the sample, the smaller the standard error, and the closer the sample mean approximates the population mean.
Do this by dividing the standard deviation by the square root of N, the sample size.
Standard error = σ/sqrt(n) So for the example above, if this were a sampling of 5 students from a class of 50 and the 50 students had a standard deviation of 17 (σ = 21), the standard error = 17/sqrt(5) =
7.6.
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