Measures of Central Tendency

MEASURES OF CENTRAL
TENDENCY
Dr K Ramya
Assistant Professor in Statistics
Department of Mathematics
Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science
Coimbatore
Introduction
• Measures of central tendency are statistical measures which describe
the position of a distribution.
• They are also called statistics of location, and are the complement of
statistics of dispersion, which provide information concerning the

variance or distribution of observations.
• In the univariate context, the mean, median and mode are the most
commonly used measures of central tendency.
• computable values on a distribution that discuss the behavior of the
center of a distribution.
Definition
According to Prof Bowley “Measures of central

tendency (averages) are statistical constants which
enable us to comprehend in a single effort the
significance of the whole.”
Objectives of Measure of Central
Tendency
The main objectives of Measure of Central Tendency are

To condense data in a single value.
To facilitate comparisons between data.
Requisites of a Good Measure of Central Tendency
It should be rigidly defined.
It should be simple to understand & easy to calculate.
It should be based upon all values of given data.
It should be capable of further mathematical treatment.
It should have sampling stability.
It should be not be unduly affected by extreme values.

A measure of central tendency gives a single representative value
for a set of values. The single value is the point of location around which
the individual values of the set cluster. The measures of central tendency
are hence known as “measures of location”. They are popularly called as
averages.
Various measures of central tendency are the following:

 Arithmetic mean
 Median
 Mode
 Geometric mean
 Harmonic mean
Arithmetic Mean
This is what people usually intend when they say
"average“
 If X1, X2, ………………Xn are data values then arithmetic
mean is given by
Individual Series:
Ms. Sulit collects the data on the ages of Mathematics teachers in Santa Rosa School, and her study
yields the following:
38 35 28 36 35 33 40
Solution:
=35
= 35
Based on the computed mean, 35 is the aver
age age of Mathematics teachers in SRS.
8
Discrete series
Let X1, X2, ………………Xn are class marks and the
corresponding frequencies are f1, f2,……………fn , then
arithmetic mean is given by
N = ∑f
Mean for grouped data
Calculating the Mean: If there are large amounts of data, it is
easier if it is displayed in a frequency table.
problem
The number of goals scored by Premier League teams over a weekend was
recorded in a table. Calculate the mean and the mode.
Goals x Frequency, f fx
0 2 0
1 4 4 Mean = ∑fx
2 8 16 ∑f
3 3 9
= 42 = 2.1
4 2 8
20
5 1 5
∑f= 20 ∑fx= 42
Continuous Series
N = ∑f
Grouped Data
Estimating the Mean: An estimate for the mean can be obtained by
assuming that each of the raw data values takes the midpoint value of
the interval in which it has been placed.
Problem.
During 3 hours at Heathrow airport 55 aircraft arrived late. The number of
minutes they were late is shown in the grouped frequency table below.
minutes Late Frequency,f midpoint(x) fx

0 - 10 27 5 135
10 - 20 10 15 150
20 - 30 7 25 175
30 - 40 5 35 175
40 - 50 4 45 180
50 - 60 2 55 110
f  55 f x  925
Mean estimate = 925/55 = 16.8 minutes
Properties of Mean
1. Mean can be calculated for any set of numerical data, so it

always exists.
2. A set of numerical data has one and only one mean.
3. Mean is the most reliable measure of central tendency
since it takes into account every item in the set of data.
4. It is greatly affected by extreme or deviant values (outliers)
5. It is used only if the data are interval or ratio.
13
MEDIAN
MEDIAN is the middle value of the sample when the data are ranked in
order according to size.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22
=19
14
GROUPED DATA
Calculation of Median –Discrete series :
i. Arrange the data in ascending or descending order.
ii. Calculate the cumulative frequencies.
iii. Apply the formula.
Calculation of median – Continuous series
For calculation of median in a continuous

frequency distribution the following formula
will be employed. Algebraically,
15
MEDIAN – DISCRETE SERIES
Problem 9:
The marks (out of a maximum of 10) scored by the students
of a class are given below :
Find the median mark
Mark :3 4 5 6 7 8 8 10
No of :15 6 7 10 15 10 5
Students.
Ans:8
Problem 13: Median of a set Grouped
Data in a Distribution of Respondents by
age
Age Group Frequency Cumulative
of Median frequencies(
class(f) cf)
0-20 15 15
20-40 32 47
40-60 54 101
60-80 30 131
80-100 19 150
Total 150
17
Median (M)=40+
= 40+
= 40+0.52X20
= 40+10.37
= 50.37
Advantages of Median:
• Median can be calculated in all distributions.
• Median can be understood even by common people.
• Median can be ascertained even with the extreme items.
• It can be located graphically
• It is most useful dealing with qualitative data

Disadvantages of Median:
• It is not based on all the values.

• It is not capable of further mathematical
treatment.
• It is affected fluctuation of sampling.
• In case of even no. of values it may not the
value from the data.
Properties of Median
1. Median is the score or class in the distribution wherein

50% of the score fall below it and another 50% lie.
2. Median is not affected by extreme or deviant values.
3. Median is appropriate to use when there are extreme or

deviant values.
4. Median is used when the data are ordinal.
5. Median exists in both quantitative or qualitative data.

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MEASURES OF CENTRAL

the position of a distribution.

statistics of dispersion, which provide information concerning the

commonly used measures of central tendency.

• computable values on a distribution that discuss the behavior of the

According to Prof Bowley “Measures of central

The main objectives of Measure of Central Tendency are

It should be rigidly defined.

It should be simple to understand & easy to calculate.

It should be based upon all values of given data.

It should be capable of further mathematical treatment.

It should have sampling stability.

It should be not be unduly affected by extreme values.

Various measures of central tendency are the following:

minutes Late Frequency,f midpoint(x) fx

1. Mean can be calculated for any set of numerical data, so it

order according to size.

Calculation of median – Continuous series

For calculation of median in a continuous

• Median can be calculated in all distributions.

• Median can be understood even by common people.

• Median can be ascertained even with the extreme items.

• It can be located graphically

• It is most useful dealing with qualitative data

• It is not based on all the values.

1. Median is the score or class in the distribution wherein

2. Median is not affected by extreme or deviant values.

3. Median is appropriate to use when there are extreme or

4. Median is used when the data are ordinal.

5. Median exists in both quantitative or qualitative data.

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