In statistics, the middle 50% of any dataset is what is commonly referred to as Interquartile range(IQR) denoted as q1 which is an abbreviation for Quartile 1. This statistical dispersion measure can be found using the Quartile or Percentile functions. By the use of the quartile/ percentile function, your data can be divided into equal parts that are; 0-25, 25-50, 50-75, and 75-100 quarters/ Percentages.
Now dividing your dataset into four equal parts will mean that you have three cut marks that are, quarter 1(Q1) at 25th mark, quarter 2(Q2) at the 50th mark, then quarter 3(Q3) at the 75th mark, out of 100 points or units. The interquartile range will, therefore, be the difference between the 75th mark and 25th mark/percentile or (Q3-Q1).
In this tutorial, I am going to show you two simple methods of finding this statistical dispersion measure.
Method 1
Using the Quartile Function
Suppose you have a dataset as shown below.
To find quartile 1(q1), click a cell where you want your result to be displayed then key in the formula =QUARTILE(data range,1) then click ENTER. In our case, our formulae will be like this =QUARTILE(G1:G20,1)
Method 2
Using the percentile function
Using the percentile function is more the same as the quartile function. The difference is only replacing the quartile function with a percentile function. Thus, our formulas will change into this:
Quartile 1(q1) will be calculated using the formula
=PERCENTILE(G1:G20,25%)
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