Measure of Central Tendency:

Measure of central tendency are measures which are representative of a sample or

population. Central tendency provide the means for one to be more objective when collecting
data or making inferences . This measures distinguish the center or middle of a set of values and
best characterize the distribution. The Central Tendency of a distribution is an estimate of the
center of a distribution of values. Central tendency refers to the idea that one number can
summarize the entire set of measurement. This is a number that is in some way central to the set.
There are three major types of estimates of central tendency:
(a) Mean (b) Median (c) Mode
(a) Mean :
The mean is the average of a set of numbers listed in that set. The mean is the sum of all
the measurements, divided by the numbers of the measured. The symbol M is used for the mean
of a population or a sample. The formula for M is shown bellow:
M

x
N

x
Where Is the sum of all the numbers in the numbers in the sample and N is the number of
numbers in the sample.
Example : The mean of 8, 5, 17, 21, 45, 50 is ( 8+5+17+21+45+50)/6=24.33
The mean is valid only for interval data or ratio data. Since it uses the values of all of the
data points in the population or sample, the mean is influenced by outliers that may be at the
extremes of the data set.
(b) Median :
The Median is the middle statistical value of the list. When the list is sorted according to
numerical ascending order, the middle number if odd will be the median. If the study consists of
even numbers depicting the median, the median will be equal to the sum of the two middle
numbers in the list, after sorting the numbers.
Another way we can say that the median is the number which half of the measurement, or
midpoint of the numbers. The median is a good measurement of the centrality of the numbers
and is a better measurement in centrality that the mean when the data is skewed. Suppose that we
have the following scores in size order:
7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 21. Here two central values are 11 and 13. So the median is (11+13)/2=12
(c) Mode :
The mode is most frequently used statistical value. The mode is the measurement that has
been found to be the most frequent. Although the mode, or greatest frequency number, is not
used very often, it is useful when differences are rare or non-numerical. The mode is the value
which appears the most often in the data. If there is more than one value which appears the most
, it is possible to have more than one mode. The mode can be used to describe the US
Bodybuilders champions by saying the mode sex of champions is generally male and their race is
Caucasian.
Example : For individuals having the following ages-22, 24, 27, 27, 27, 38, 45 and 50. The mode
is 27.

When to use Mean, Median, and Mode

The following table summarizes the appropriate methods of determining the middle or
typical value of data set based on the measurement scale of the data.
Measurement Scale
Best Measure of the Middle
Nominal (Categorical)

Mode

Ordinal

Median

Interval

Symmetrical data : Median

Ratio

Symmetrical data : Mean

Skewed data : Median

Reference
Office of Student Achievement, (2007). 2002-2003 Annual Report Card on K-12 Public Schools.
Retrieved from http://reportcard2003.gaosa.org/k12/About.asp#T4
Lind, D., Marchal W., Wathen, S. (2005). Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics,
Chapter 3.12th Edition. McGraw-Hill.
http://www.quickmba.com/stats/centralten/