Measures of Central Tendency

Descriptive Measure: Although frequency distributions serve useful purposes,

there are many situations that require other types of data summarization. What we
need in many instances is the ability to summarize the data by means of a single
number called a descriptive measure. Descriptive measures may be computed from
the data of a sample or the data of a population.

Statistic: A descriptive measure computed from the data of a sample is called a

statistic.
Parameter: A descriptive measure computed from the data of a population is
called a parameter.

Central Tendency: In practice, data show a distinct tendency to group around a

central point. That is, in a data set, the values have a tendency to cluster around a
certain point. This tendency of the values clustering around the center of the series
is usually called central tendency. The numerical measure of this tendency of
concentration is variously known as the measure of central tendency.

Measure of Central Tendency: Measures of central tendency convey information

regarding the average value of a set of values. The word average can be defined in
different ways. The three most commonly used measures of central tendency are
 Arithmetic Mean or Mean
 Median
 Mode

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Arithmetic Mean or Mean: The most familiar measure of central tendency is the
arithmetic mean. It is the descriptive measure most people have in mind when they
speak of the “average.” One may also refer to the arithmetic mean simply as the
mean. The mean is obtained by adding all the values in a population or sample and
dividing by the number of values that are added.

Suppose there are 𝑛 values 𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … , 𝑥𝑛 for a variable X, then the mean, denoted
by 𝑥, is defined as

n
𝑥1 + 𝑥2 + 𝑥3 + ⋯ + ⋯ + 𝑥𝑛 i=1 xi
𝑥= =
𝑛 n

Example: A manufacturer of electronic components is interested in determining

the lifetime of a certain type of battery. A sample, in hour's of life, is as follows:

123,116,122,110,140, 120,125, 111, 118, 117

The mean is calculated as

n
i=1 xi 123 + 116 + 122 + 110 + 140 + 120 + 125 + 111 + 118 + 117
x= =
n 10
= 120.2

2
Weighted Arithmetic Mean (WAM):
Let us consider an example. Suppose a student took a final examination for 5
courses with different credit hour. The scores (percentage) he/she obtained are 70
(3-cedit), 60 (4-credit), 75 (3-credit), 80 (2-credit) and 90 (2-credit).

In this case if we compute the mean as

70 + 60 + 75 + 80 + 90
= 75,
5
it would be wrong. Note that it would be correct if each of the courses contain
equal weight/credit hour. To solve this problem we have to give weight of each
course 3, 4, 3, 2, and 2 respectively. So the mean can be calculated as

3×70 + 4×60 + 3×75 + 2×80 + 2×90 1015

WAM = = = 72.5
3+4+3+2+2 14

In general WAM may be calculated as follows

𝑤 𝑖 𝑥𝑖
𝑊𝐴𝑀 = ,
𝑤𝑖

where 𝑥: Value of a variable and 𝑤: weight corresponding to a particular value of

𝑥.

Theorem:
If a set consists of 𝑛1 observations of the form 𝑥11 , 𝑥12 , … , 𝑥1𝑛 1 with mean 𝑥1 and
a second set consists of 𝑛2 observations of the form 𝑥21 , 𝑥22 , … , 𝑥2𝑛 2 with mean
𝑥2 , then the mean of all the 𝑛1 + 𝑛2 observations called combined mean or pooled
mean, is given by

𝑛1 𝑥1 + 𝑛2 𝑥2
𝑥𝑐 =
𝑛1 + 𝑛2

3
Properties of the Mean: The arithmetic mean possesses certain properties, some
desirable and some not so desirable. These properties include the following:
1. Uniqueness. For a given set of data there is one and only one arithmetic
mean.
2. Simplicity. The arithmetic mean is easily understood and easy to compute.
3. Since each and every value in a set of data enters into the computation of
the mean, it is affected by each value. Extreme values (too large or too small
compared to other values), therefore, have an influence on the mean and, in
some cases, can so distort it that it becomes undesirable as a measure of
central tendency.
As an example of how extreme values may affect the mean, consider the following
situation. Suppose the five physicians who practise in an area are surveyed to
determine their charges for a certain procedure. Assume that they report these
charges: $75, $75, $80, $80, and $280. The mean charge for the five physicians is
found to be $118, a value that is not very representative of the set of data as a
whole. The single atypical value had the effect of inflating the mean.

Median: If the values of a series are arranged in an ascending or descending order

of magnitude then the middle most value in this arrangement is called the median
of the series. That is, median of a given data set is a value such that 50% of all
measurements, after having been arranged in numerical order, lie above (or below)
it. For a given data set, median can be computed as follows.

Let us consider 𝑛 observations on a variable. At first, we have to arrange the

observations in ascending/descending order of magnitude and then identify
whether 𝑛 is even or odd.

4
 𝑛 +1 𝑡ℎ
a) If 𝑛 is odd: Median = observation.
2
𝑛 𝑡ℎ 𝑛 𝑡ℎ
b) If 𝑛 is even: Median = Mean of observation and +1
2 2
observation

Example:
The ages of seven members of a family are given as 12, 7, 2, 34, 17, 21 and 19.
Find the median age.

Arrange the values in ascending order: 2, 7, 12, 17, 19, 21, 34

Here, 𝑛 = 7, which is odd.
𝑛+1 𝑡ℎ
Median = observation = 4𝑡ℎ observation = 17
2
Median age of the family is 17 years.

Example:
The ages of a family of eight members are given as 12, 7, 2, 34, 17, 40, 21 and 19.
Find the median age.

Arrange the values in ascending order 2, 7, 12, 17, 19, 21, 34, 40

Here, 𝑛 = 8, which is even

𝑛 𝑡ℎ 𝑛 𝑡ℎ
Median = Mean of observation and +1 observation.
2 2
𝑡ℎ
= Mean of 4 observation and 5𝑡ℎ observation
17+19
= = 18 . So, Median age of the family is 18 years.
2

Properties of the Median: Properties of the median include the following:

1. Uniqueness. As is true with the mean, there is only one median for a
given set of data.
2. Simplicity. The median is easy to calculate.
3. It is not as drastically affected by extreme values as is the mean.

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Mode: The mode of measurements is the measurement that occurs most
frequently. If all the values are different there is no mode; on the other hand, a set
of values may have more than one mode. When data are in classes, the class with
the highest frequency is the modal class.

Example: Satisfaction scores on a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 10 (extremely

satisfied), arranged in increasing order
1 3 5 5 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10
Because the rating 8 occurs with the highest number of occurrences the mode is 8.

For an example of a set of values that has more than one mode, let us consider a
laboratory with 10 employees whose ages are 20, 21, 20, 20, 34, 22, 24, 27, 27,
and 27. We could say that these data have two modes, 20 and 27. The sample
consisting of the values 10, 21, 33, 53, and 54 has no mode since all the values are
different.

Note: The mode is usually used for describing qualitative data. Consider the
following frequency distribution
Table: Frequency distribution for internet use among first year students
Internet Usage Category Frequency
Not internet user 19
One hour or less 11
One to four hour 9
Four to ten hour 8
More than 10 hours 3

The mode is “Not internet user”.

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 Comparing Mean, Median and Mode

• Bell-shaped distribution:
Mean = Median = Mode
• Right skewed distribution:
Mean > Median > Mode
• Left-skewed distribution:
Mean < Median < Mode

𝝁 = 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏; 𝑴𝒐 = 𝑴𝒐𝒅𝒆, 𝑴𝒅 = 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏

Remark:

We often describe a set of measurements by using a five-number summary. The

summary consists of (1) the smallest measurement; (2) the first quartile, Q1; (3) the
median or the second quartile Q2; (4) the third quartile, Q3; and (5) the largest
measurement.

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Percentiles and Quartiles
Given a set of 𝑛 observations, the 𝑝th percentile, 𝑥𝑝 is the value of random variable
𝑋 such that 𝑝 percent or less of the observations are less than 𝑥𝑝 and (100 − 𝑝)
percent or less of the observations are greater than 𝑥𝑝 . Note that 0 < 𝑝 < 100.
- The first quartile, Q1 is the 25th percentile
- The second quartile, Q2 (or median), Md is the 50th percentile
- The third quartile, Q3 is the 75th percentile
Note:
1. 25% of observations are between Q1 and Q2
2. 25% of observations are between Q2 and Q3
3. 50% of observations are between Q1 and Q3
Steps for calculating p-th percentile
1. Arrange the sample in increasing order
2. Calculate 𝑘 = 𝑝/100 × 𝑛, where n = sample size
3. If k is fraction (not integer), then the next integer greater than k denotes the
position of the pth percentile in the ordered arrangement
4. If k is an integer, then pth percentile is the average of the measurements in
positions k and (k+1) in the ordered arrangement.

Example: 20 customer satisfaction scores are given in ascending order.

1 3 5 5 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10

Q1 = (7+8)/2 = 7.5
Q2= (8+8)/2 = 8
Q3 = (9+9)/2 = 9

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Problem:

(a) Find the smallest and largest measurements.

(b) Find the mean, median, and mode of the measurements.
(c) Find the first, second, and third quartile measurements.