What does COV stand for in terms of measures of spread or dispersion?

The term COV in the context of measures of spread or dispersion stands for Coefficient of Variation. This statistical measure is used to assess the relative variability of a dataset by expressing the standard deviation as a percentage of the mean. The Coefficient of Variation allows for the comparison of variations between different datasets, even if they have different units or scales.

Using the Coefficient of Variation is particularly useful in fields like finance and economics, where it's important to understand the amount of uncertainty or risk relative to the expected return. It helps analysts and appraisers gauge how much variability exists in data compared to the average, facilitating more informed decision-making based on the spread of the data.

The Coefficient of Dispersion, while similar in name, refers to a specific measure that typically looks at the dispersion of property assessments and is not what COV represents. The other options do not apply as standard statistical measures associated with the abbreviation COV.