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(I apologize if this is off-topic. Also, I've read the numerous questions here about standard deviations, but I believe my question is different.)

I've read the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and it doesn't seem to mention how it defines the abbreviation "SD," that is, it doesn't say whether this represents the sample standard deviation or the population standard deviation, it just calls it "standard deviation." (It does define "s" as a sample standard deviation.) What further complicates the matter is that APA uses "N" to denote the size of the total sample and "n" to denote the size of a subsample (section 6.44).

My question is: If I read a paper that follows APA style and it says something like "Participants were on average 21.2 years old (SD = 3.2)," is the SD to be understood as a sample standard deviation or as a population standard deviation?

user338955
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  • It depends on whether the paper is reporting about a sample or a census of the population. It also depends on how the SD would be estimated, which varies according to the statistical methods employed in the data analysis. Ordinarily (with typical sample sizes) the distinction is irrelevant: please see https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/3931. – whuber Apr 16 '22 at 14:21
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    @whuber, thanks for the response and the link. – user338955 Apr 17 '22 at 01:43

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