Applications. Skewness is a descriptive statistic that can be used in conjunction with the histogram and the normal quantile plot to characterize the data or distribution. Skewness indicates the direction and relative magnitude of a distribution’s deviation from the normal distribution.

In a normal distribution, the mean and the median are the same number while the mean and median in a skewed distribution become different numbers: A left-skewed, negative distribution will have the mean to the left of the median. A right-skewed distribution will have the mean to the right of the median.

Skewness refers to a distortion or asymmetry that deviates from the symmetrical bell curve, or normal distribution, in a set of data. If the curve is shifted to the left or to the right, it is said to be skewed.

Positive Skewness means when the tail on the right side of the distribution is longer or fatter. The mean and median will be greater than the mode. Negative Skewness is when the tail of the left side of the distribution is longer or fatter than the tail on the right side. The mean and median will be less than the mode.

Negative values for the skewness indicate data that are skewed left and positive values for the skewness indicate data that are skewed right. By skewed left, we mean that the left tail is long relative to the right tail. Similarly, skewed right means that the right tail is long relative to the left tail.

In statistics, a negatively skewed (also known as left-skewed) distribution is a type of distribution in which more values are concentrated on the right side (tail) of the distribution graph while the left tail of the distribution graph is longer.

As a general rule of thumb: If skewness is less than -1 or greater than 1, the distribution is highly skewed. If skewness is between -1 and -0.5 or between 0.5 and 1, the distribution is moderately skewed. If skewness is between -0.5 and 0.5, the distribution is approximately symmetric.

Right-Skewed Distribution: The distribution of household incomes. The distribution of household incomes in the U.S. is right-skewed, with most households earning between $40k and $80k per year but with a long right tail of households that earn much more. No Skew: The distribution of male heights.

Positively Skewed Distribution in Finance follow a normal distribution, in reality, the returns are usually skewed. The positive skewness of a distribution indicates that an investor may expect frequent small losses and a few large gains from the investment.

Okay, now when we have that covered, let’s explore some methods for handling skewed data.

1. Log Transform. Log transformation is most likely the first thing you should do to remove skewness from the predictor.
2. Square Root Transform.
3. 3. Box-Cox Transform.

Many practitioners suggest that if your data are not normal, you should do a nonparametric version of the test, which does not assume normality. From my experience, I would say that if you have non-normal data, you may look at the nonparametric version of the test you are interested in running.

Power is the most frequent measure of the value of a test for normality—the ability to detect whether a sample comes from a non-normal distribution (11). Some researchers recommend the Shapiro-Wilk test as the best choice for testing the normality of data (11).