Unit 4-A

Measures of Central Tendency

For every group of scores, there are those ones which are noticed as “most”. It is these scores
which commonly appear, obtained or grouped. Thus, this is called central tendency which simply
serves as an index in the clustering of X-value towards the central value. There are three
measures of central tendency. These are mean, median and mode.

I. Objectives:
At the end of the unit, the student is expected to:
A. Differentiate the characteristics of mean, median and mode.
B. Determine the mean, median and mode of given set of data correctly.

II. Topics:
A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode

III. Presentation

A. Mean or average. This is probably the most common way of describing central
tendency. It is done by adding up all the values and then divided by the number of
values. There are two ways in the determining the mean. When n is lesser than 30,
the ungrouped data is used. When n is 30 or more, the grouped data is used.

Example: Ungrouped Data

84 79 82 93 76 = 414 Total

414 ÷ 5 = 82.8 Mean

B. Median. This is the score found exactly at the middle of set of values. A simple
way of looking for the median is to list down all the scores either from highest to
lowest or from lowest to highest. The score located at the center of the sample is
 the median. If there are two values at the center, add them then divide it by 2. The
resulting value is the median.

Even number

Illustration: 16

Odd number 18

2 19

3 20 20 + 22 = 42

4 Median 22 42 ÷ 2 = 21 Median

7 23

9 25
number repeated many times
26

C. Mode. This is the score found as the most frequently occurring score in a set of
scores. An easy way to determine the mode is to arrange the scores in either
ascending or descending order.

Example: 44 37 37

32 45 30

37 42 45

33 36 39

30 32 33 36 37 37 37 39 42 44 45 45

What is the most frequently

occurring number? 37 Mode Unit 4-B

Weighted Values and Weighted Mean
 Descriptive statistics about weighted values that results to weighted mean uses the Likert
point-scale. The points are expressed in weights with arbitrary descriptions used depending upon
the situation or condition where it is applied. It could be progressive or regressive when it is one
directional; or integeric when descriptions contain both positive and negative descriptions. It is
also known as two-directional.

based on or subject to individual judgment or preference; it is

A. Objectives determined by chance, not by necessity.
In this unit, the student is expected to
A. Calculate values using the Likert-point scale.
B. Make simple interpretations about values obtained in calculations.

I. Topics
A. The Likert-point Scale
B. Calculation of Weighted Mean

II. Presentation

A. The Likert-Point Scale

This is still a part of the lesson on measures of central tendency. The description of a
Likert-point scale is already given in the introductory paragraph. In a sense, it is an
arbitrary way of giving a value or a number to a certain description so that the value or
values can be calculated.

Illustrations:

Progressive/Regressive Integeric
Weight Description Weight Description
5 Excellent 5 Strongly Agree
4 Very Good 4 Agree
3 Good 3 Uncertain
2 Fair 2 Disagree
1 Poor 1 Strongly Disagree
The weights in a Likert point-scale are not always 5. It can be 3 and any number up to 10. To
facilitate interpretation, each weight (point) or a certain distance should have equivalent
description. Here is an example on how to use a Likert point scale in determining the weighted
mean:

Y Health Center released the following report in CY 2018-2019 about DOH programs they
have conducted in the community

Programs Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

5 4 3 2 1
 ∑fx Wm Rank Interpretation
Oral polio vaccine
27 51 19 13 10 432 3.60 3 Often
Exclusive 15 28 42 30 5 378 3.15 4 Sometimes
Breastfeeding
Anti-rabies
vaccination 29 47 30 7 7 444 3.70 2 Often
Covid-19 Rapid
Test 77 36 4 2 1 546 4.55 1 Always
Overall Mean 3.75 Often
N=120

To calculate using a scientific calculator= (27x5)+(51x4)+(19x3)+(13x2)+(10x1)=∑fx÷N=Wm

Calculation of Weighted Mean (Wm)

Procedure of Calculation:

1. Determine the number of cases (N) per row or horizontally.

2. Multiply the frequency per cell by the weight of that cell. This will give you the
partial product for the item.
3. Add the partial products to get the total products. For the item.
4. Divide the total product by the number of cases (N) to get the weighted mean
value.
5. Give the appropriate description about the weighted mean value obtained.

The formula or rule is simple:

∑ fx
Wm = where: Wm is the weighted mean value
N
∑ is the summation sign
f is the frequency
x is the weight
N is the number of cases
∑fx is the sum of the partial products
Some simple interpretation about the data:

1. Covid-19 Rapid Test appears to be a program always conducted in by community while

Exclusive Breastfeeding was sometimes conducted in Y Health Center.
2. Generally, Y Health Center often conducts DOH programs conducts in the community.