FINDING YOUR

CENTER
Del Rosario | Macaraeg | Olea
 Means The Lore of Averages
A first try at a formula might be
Calculating the Mean
Sum of Numbers
 A mean is just the sum of a bunch of numbers Mean=
Amount of Numbers You Added Up
divided by the amount of numbers you added This is unwieldy as formulas go, so statisticians
up. use abbreviations. A commonly used
abbreviation for “Number” is x. A typical
Here’s an example. Suppose you measure the reading abbreviation for “Amount of Numbers You
speeds of six children in words per minute, and you Added Up” is N. With these abbreviations, the
find that their speeds are formula becomes
56, 78, 45, 49, 55, 62 Mean=
Sum of 𝑋
The average reading speed of these six children is 𝑁
Another abbreviation, stands for Sum of. It’s
56 + 78 + 45 + 49 + 55 + 62 the uppercase Greek letter for S. It’s
= 𝟓𝟕. 𝟓 pronounced “sigma” and it looks like this: Σ.
62
Here’s the formula with the sigma:
Σ𝑋
That is, the mean of this sample is 57.5 words per Mean=
𝑁
minute.
2
What about “mean”? Statisticians abbreviate that, too. M would be a good
abbreviation, and some statisticians use it, but most use 𝑥ҧ (pronounced “X
bar”) to represent the mean. So here’s the formula:
Σ𝑋
𝑥ҧ = 𝑁
For characteristics of populations, the abbreviations are Greek letters. For
the population mean, the abbreviation is the Greek equivalent of M, which
is μ (pronounced like “you” but with “m” in front of it). The formula for the
population mean, then, is

Σ𝑋
μ=
𝑁

3
 AVERAGE and AVERAGEA

 Excel’s AVERAGE worksheet function

calculates the mean of a set of numbers
Figure 4-1 shows the data and Function
Arguments dialog box for AVERAGE.

FIGURE 4-1

4
 3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, enter
Here are the steps:
the values for the arguments. If the array of
1. In your worksheet, enter your numbers into number-containing cells isn’t already in the
an array of cells and select the cell where you Number1 box, enter it into that box. The mean
want AVERAGE to place the result. For this (57.5 for this example) appears in this dialog
example, I entered 56, 78, 45, 49, 55, and 62 box.
into cells B2 through B7, and I selected B8 for 4. Click OK to close the AVERAGE Function
the result. Arguments dialog box. This puts the mean into
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, choose the cell selected in the worksheet. In this
AVERAGE to open the AVERAGE Function example, that’s B8.
Arguments dialog box. As you can see in Figure 4-1, the formula in the
Formula bar is
=AVERAGE(B2:B7)

5
◉ AVERAGEA does the same thing as AVERAGE, but with one important difference.
When AVERAGE calculates a mean, it ignores cells that contain text and it ignores
cells that contain the expressions TRUE or FALSE. AVERAGEA takes text and
expressions into consideration when it calculates a mean. As far as AVERAGEA is
concerned, if a cell has text or FALSE, it has a value of 0. If a cell holds the word
TRUE, it has a value of 1. AVERAGEA includes these values in the mean.

6
Steps for AVERAGEA:

1. Type the numbers into the worksheet and select a cell for the result. For this example, I
entered the numbers 56, 78, 45, 49, 55, 62 in cells B2 through B7 and select B9. This leaves B8
blank. I did this because I’m going to put different values into B8 and show you the effect on
AVERAGEA.
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select AVERAGEA to open the AVERAGEA Function
Arguments dialog box.
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, enter the values for the arguments. This time I entered
B2:B8 into the Number1 box. The mean (57.5) appears in this dialog box. AVERAGEA ignores
blank cells, just as AVERAGE does.
4. Click OK to close the Function Arguments dialog box, and the answer appears in the selected
cell.

7
 AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS

◉ These two functions calculate average conditionally.

◉ AVERAGEIF includes numbers in the average if a particular condition
is met.
◉ AVERAGEIFS includes numbers in the average if more than one
condition is met.

8
◉ The entries represent the data from a fictional psychology experiment. In this
experiment, a person sits in front of a screen and a color-filled shape
appears. The color is either red or green and the shape is either a square or a
circle. The combination for each trial is random, and all combinations appear
an equal number of times. In the lingo of the field, each appearance of a
color-filled shape is called a trial. So the worksheet shows the outcomes of 16
trials.
◉ The person sitting in front of the screen presses a button as soon as he or she
sees the shape. Column D (labeled RT msec) presents one person’s reaction
time in milliseconds (thousandths of a second) for each trial. Columns B and C
show the characteristics of the shape presented on that trial. So, for example,
row 2 tells you that on the first trial, a red circle appeared and the person
responded in 410 msec (milliseconds).

9
◉ The first, Average Overall (in cell
D19) is just
=AVERAGE(RT_msec)
◉ Cell D20 holds the average of trials
that displayed a circle. That’s what I
mean by a conditional average. It’s
the average of trials that meet the
condition Shape = Circle
◉ The formula created after clicking
OK is
=AVERAGEIF(Shape,”Circle”,RT_msec)

FIGURE 4-2

10
What the dialog box and the
formula are telling you is this:
Excel includes a cell in Column
D (RT_msec) in the average if
the corresponding cell in
Column B (Shape) holds the
value “Circle.” If not, the cell is
not included.

FIGURE 4-3

11
To create this formula, follow these steps:
1. Type the numbers into the worksheet and select a cell for the result. The
cell I selected is D20.
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select AVERAGEIF to open the
AVERAGEIF Function Arguments dialog box.
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, enter the values for the arguments.
For AVERAGEIF in this example, the Range is Shape, the Criteria is “Circle”
(Excel types the double-quotes), and the Average_range is RT_msec.
4. Click OK to close the Function Arguments dialog box and the answer
appears in the selected cell.

12
Some more on AVERAGEIF: To find the average of the first eight trials, the formula is
=AVERAGEIF(Trial,”<9”,RT_msec)

To find the average of reaction times faster than 400 msec, the formula is
=AVERAGEIF(RT_msec,”<400”,RT_msec)

For each of these last two, the operator “<” precedes the numeric value. If you try to
somehow set it up so that the value precedes the operator, the formula won’t work.
What about the average for Green Squares in cell D21? Figure 4-4 shows the
completed dialog box for AVERAGEIFS, which can work with more than one criterion.
The formula for calculating the average of trials on which Color = Green and Shape =
Square is
=AVERAGEIFS(RT_msec,Color,”Green”,Shape,”Square”)

13
◉ Notice that RT_msec is
the first argument in
AVERAGEIFS but the last
argument in
AVERAGEIF.

FIGURE 4-4

14
To create this formula, follow these steps:
4. Click OK to close the Function
1. Type the numbers into the worksheet and Arguments dialog box and the answer
select a cell for the result. The cell I selected is appears in the selected cell.
D21.
Given what you just saw, you may be
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select wondering why it’s necessary for Excel to
AVERAGEIFS to open the AVERAGEIFS have both AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIFS.
Function Arguments dialog box. After all,
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, enter
the values for the arguments. For
=AVERAGEIF(Shape,”Circle”,RT_msec)
AVERAGEIFS in this example, the
Average_range is RT_msec. Criteria_range1 is
“Color,” and Criteria1 is “Green.” gives the same answer as
Criteria_range2 is Shape, the Criteria is
=AVERAGEIFS(RT_msec, Shape,”Circle”)
“Square.” (Excel types the double-quotes.)

15
 TRIMMEAN
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, type
Here’s how you use TRIMMEAN: the values for the arguments. The data array
1. Type the scores into a worksheet and select a goes into the Array box. For this example,
cell for the result. For this example, I put these that’s B2:B11.
numbers into cells B2 through B11: 500, 280,
550, 540, 525, 595, 620, 1052, 591, 618 These Next, I have to identify the percent of scores I
scores might result from a psychology want to trim. In the Percent box, I enter .2. This
experiment that measures reaction time in tells TRIMMEAN to eliminate the extreme 20
thousandths of a second (milliseconds). I percent of the scores before calculating the
selected B12 for the result. mean. The extreme 20 percent means the
highest 10 percent of scores and the lowest 10
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select
percent of scores. Figure 4-5 shows the dialog
TRIMMEAN to open the TRIMMEAN Function
box, the array of scores, and the selected cell.
Arguments dialog box.
The dialog box shows the value of the trimmed
mean, 567.375.

16
4. Click OK to close the dialog box
and the answer appears in the
selected cell.

The label Percent is a little misleading

here. You have to express the percent
as a decimal. So you enter .2 rather
than 20 in the Percent box if you want
to trim the extreme 20 percent. (Quick
question: If you enter 0 in the Percent
box, what’s the answer equivalent to?
Answer: AVERAGE(B2:B11).

FIGURE 4-5

17
OTHER MEANS TO AN END

2 types of average
1. Geometric Mean
2. Harmonic mean

18
 GEOMETRIC MEAN
Suppose you have a two-year investment that In this example, the geometric mean is
yields 25 percent the first year and 75 percent the square root of the product of two
the second year. (If you do, I want to know numbers. For three numbers, the
about it!) What’s the average annual rate of geometric mean is the cube root of the
return? product of the three. For four numbers,
You calculate the mean this way: it’s the fourth root of their product, and
so on. In general, the geometric mean of
N numbers is the Nth root of their
Average Rate of Return= 𝟏. 𝟐𝟓 × 𝟏. 𝟕𝟓= 1.654 product.
The Excel worksheet function GEOMEAN
The average rate of return is about 65.4 percent, calculates the geometric mean of a group
not 50 percent. This kind of average is called the of numbers. Follow the same steps as
geometric mean. you would for AVERAGE, but select
GEOMEAN from the Statistical Functions
menu.

19
 Harmonic Mean
Suppose, for example, you’re in no particular ◉ The average here is 48. This kind of
hurry to get to work in the morning, and you average is called a harmonic mean. I show
drive from your house to your job at the rate of it to you for two numbers, but you can
40 miles per hour. At the end of the day you’d calculate it for any amount of numbers.
like to get home quickly, so on the return trip Just put each number in the denominator
(over exactly the same distance) you drive of a fraction with 1 as the numerator.
Mathematicians call this the reciprocal of
from your job to your house at 60 miles per
a number. (So 1⁄40 is the reciprocal of
hour. What is your average speed for the total
40.) Add all the reciprocals together and
time you’re on the road?
take their average. The result is the
reciprocal of the harmonic mean.
◉ The worksheet function HARMEAN
calculates the harmonic mean of a group
of numbers. Follow the same steps as you
would for AVERAGE, but in the Statistical
Functions menu select HARMEAN.

20
 Medians Caught in the Middle
◉ The mean is a useful way to summarize a What about the group with the new child?
group of numbers. It’s sensitive to That’s
extreme values. 45, 49, 55, 56, 62, 180
The median is still 55.5. The extreme value
Finding the Median doesn’t change the median
In our example, the first group of reading
speeds (in increasing order) is:
45, 49, 55, 56, 62, 78
The median is right in the middle of 55 and 56
— it’s 55.5.

21
 MEDIAN

Here are the steps:

1. Type your data into a worksheet and select a cell for the result. I used 45, 49, 55, 56, 62, 78
for this example, in cells B2 through B7, with cell B8 selected for the median. I arranged the
numbers in increasing order, but you don’t have to do that to use MEDIAN.
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select MEDIAN to open the MEDIAN Function
Arguments dialog box.
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, enter the values for the arguments. The Function
Arguments dialog box opens with the data array in the Number1 box. The median appears in
that dialog box. (It’s 55.5 for this example.) Figure 4-6 shows the dialog box along with the
array of cells and the selected cell.

22
◉ The Function Arguments dialog box opens
with the data array in the Number1 box.
The median appears in that dialog box. (It’s
55.5 for this example.) Figure 4-6 shows
the dialog box along with the array of cells
and the selected cell.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box and the
answer appears in the selected cell.
◉ As an exercise, replace 78 with 180 in B7,
and you’ll see that the median doesn’t
change

FIGURE 4-6

23
 FINDING THE MODE
Use Excel’s MODE.SNGL function to find a single mode.
1. Type your data into a worksheet and select a cell for the result. I use 56, 23, 77, 75, 57,
75, 91, 59, and 75 in this example. The data are in cells B2 through B10, with B11 as the
selected cell for the mode.
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select MODE.SNGL to open the MODE.SNGL
Function Arguments dialog box. (See Figure 4-7.)
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, type the values for the arguments. The Function
Arguments dialog box opens. I entered B2:B10 in the Number1 box and the mode (75 for
this example) appears in the dialog box.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box and the answer appears in the selected cell.

24
◉ For a set of numbers that has
more than one mode (that is, if
it’s multimodal), use Excel’s
MODE.MULT function. This is
an array function: It returns
(potentially) an array of
answers, not just one. You
select an array of cells for the
results, and when you finish
with the dialog box you press
Ctrl+Shift+Enter to populate
the array.

FIGURE 4-7

25
Here’s an example of MODE.MULT.
1. Type your data into a worksheet and select a vertical array of cells for the results. I
typed 57, 23, 77, 75, 57, 75, 91, 57, and 75 into cells B2:B10. I selected B11:B14 for the
results. Notice that this set of numbers has two modes, 57 and 75.
2. From the Statistical Functions menu, select MODE.MULT to open the MODE.MULT
Function Arguments dialog box. (See Figure 4-8.)
3. In the Function Arguments dialog box, type the values for the arguments. IMPORTANT:
Do not click OK.
4. Because this is an array function, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to put MODE. MULT’s answers
into the selected array. Nothing in the dialog box even remotely hints that you have to do
this.
Figure 4-9 shows what happens after you press Ctrl+Shift+Enter. Because I allocated four
cells for the results and only two modes were in the set of numbers, error messages show
up in the remaining two cells.

26
 Figure 4-9 shows what
happens after you press
Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Because I allocated four
cells for the results and
only two modes were in
the set of numbers, error
messages show up in the
remaining two cells

FIGURE 4-8

FIGURE 4-9

27
END
THANK YOU!

28