MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Dr. zeinab Ali Ali Baraia

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE
 • is a central or typical value for a probability distribution.

• The most common measures of central tendency are the arithmetic mean,
the median and the mode
 Mean
The mean (or average) of a set of data values is the sum of all of the
data values divided by the number of data values. That is:
1* Raw value
Example 1
The marks of seven students in a mathematics test with a maximum possible mark of
20 are given below:
15 13 18 16 14 17 12
Find the mean of this set of data values.
Solution:
 2-MEAN FOR FREQUENCY OF VALUE

• When you are given relatively large data, the mean is : ͞x = ∑ x*f / ∑f

where: f is the frequency, x is the value, and ∑ means "the sum of".
 EXAMPLE: FIND THE MEAN

Table of marks and its frequencies

Mark frequency(f) xf ( x multiplied by f)
3 4 12
4 7 28
5 2 10
6 2 12
7 1 7
8 1 8
9 3 27
Total 20 (∑f) 104 (∑xf )
 ANSWER

∑ xf = 104
∑ f = 20

͞x = ∑xf / ∑f

͞ x = 104 / 20 = 5.2
 3- MEAN FOR GROUPED DATA

• When you are given data which has been grouped, the mean is : ͞x =
∑f*x / ∑f

where: f is the frequency, x is the midpoint of the group, and ∑ means

"the sum of".

Mid point (x)= lower limit + upper limit /2

 EXAMPLE: FIND THE MEAN

Frequency distribution of people who visit chest clinic for follow up care
Visits number Number of People (f) Midpoint (x) fx ( f multiplied by x)
101-120 1 110.5 110.5
121-130 3 125.5 376.5
131-140 5 135.5 677.5
141-150 7 145.5 1018.5
151-160 4 155.5 622
161-170 2 165.5 331
171-190 1 180.5 180.5
Total 23 (∑f) 3316.5 (∑fx )
 ANSWER

∑ fx = 3316.5
∑ f = 23

͞x = ∑fx / ∑f

͞ x = 3316.5 / 23 = 144 visits

Advantages of arithmetic mean:
- It takes all observation into consideration
- It is the best average for quantitative data to be used in statistical
analysis

Disadvantages:
- It cannot be used with qualitative data
- It is affected by the extreme observation
 Median
The median of a set of data values is the middle value of the data set
when it has been arranged in ascending order. That is, from the smallest
value to the highest value.

Example 1
The marks of seven students in a mathematics test with a maximum
possible mark of 20 are given below:
15 13 18 16 14 17 12
Find the mean of this set of data values.
Solution:
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Example 2
The marks of nine students in a geography test that had a maximum possible mark of
50 are given below:
47 35 37 32 38 39 36 34 35
Find the median of this set of data values.
Solution:
Arrange the data values in order from the lowest value to the highest value:
32 34 35 35 36 37 38 39 47
The fifth data value, 36, is the middle value in this arrangement.

Median=36
Mean =37
If the number of values in the data set is even, then the median is the average of the two middle values.

Example 3
Find the median of the following data set:
12 18 16 21 10 13 17 19
Solution:
Arrange the data values in order from the lowest value to the highest value:
10 12 13 16 17 18 19 21
The number of values in the data set is 8, which is even. So, the median is the average of the two middle
values.
 ESTIMATED MEDIAN FOR GROUPED
VALUE
• Median in case= (the rank of median)= n/2
• Estimated Median=

where:
• L is the lower class boundary of the group containing the median
• n is the total number of values
• m is its order/rank in the class
• B is the cumulative frequency of the groups before the median group
• G is the frequency of the median group
• w is the group width
• The median is the middle value, which in our
case is the 11th one, which is in the 61 - 65
group: "the median group is 61 - 65"
• But when estimate Median value we need
to look more closely at the 61 - 65 group.
• "61 - 65", but it really includes values from
60.5 up to (but not including) 65.5.
Group Frequency Cumulative ascending
frequency
51- 55 2 2
56 – 60 7 9
61 – 65 8 17
66 - 70 4 21
• At 60.5 we already have 9 runners, and
by the next boundary at 65.5 we have 17
runners. By drawing a straight line in
between we can pick out where the
median frequency of n/2 runners is:
61.4375
Answer :
•L = 60.5
•n = 21
•B = 2 + 7 = 9
•G = 8
•w = 5
Estimated Median= 60.5 + [(21/2) − 9]/ 8 × 5
= 60.5 + 0.9375
= 61.4375
 Advantages of median

1- It can be used with quantitative and qualitative ordinal variable

2- It is not affected by extreme values

3- It can be used in open ended tables

Disadvantages :

1- It can not be used with qualitative nominal variables

 Mode
The mode of a set of data values is the value(s) that occurs most often. The mode has
applications in printing. For example, it is important to print more of the most popular
books; because printing different books in equal numbers would cause a shortage of some
books and an oversupply of others.
Likewise, the mode has applications in manufacturing. For example, it is important to
manufacture more of the most popular shoes; because manufacturing different shoes in
equal numbers would cause a shortage of some shoes and an oversupply of others.

Example 4
Find the mode of the following data set:
48 44 48 45 42 49 48
Solution:
The mode is 48 since it occurs most often.
 DETERMINATION OF MODE FROM
GROUPED DATA:
Two methods can be used:

1- The modal interval. Which is the interval opposite the highest

frequency.

2- The mid point of modal interval (used only for quantitative data) in
this method the modal interval is determined then the mid point
calculated as lower limit + upper limit / 2
EXAMPLE
• Modal interval=

30<35 kg

• Mid point of modal interval=

32.5 kg
EXAMPLE

• Modal interval is

Married
 Advantages of mode

1- It can be used with all type of variables

2- It is not affected by extreme values

Disadvantages :

1- Sometimes it can not be determined ( when all observations have the

same frequency.

2- Sometimes there are two modes or more in the same group of data
Analyzing Data
The mean, median and mode of a data set are collectively known as measures of central
tendency as these three measures focus on where the data is centered or clustered. To
analyze data using the mean, median and mode, we need to use the most appropriate
measure of central tendency. The following points should be remembered:
•The mean is useful for predicting future results when there are no extreme values in the
data set. However, the impact of extreme values on the mean may be important and
should be considered. E.g. The impact of a stock market crash on average investment
returns.
•The median may be more useful than the mean when there are extreme values in the data
set as it is not affected by the extreme values.
•The mode is useful when the most common item, characteristic or value of a data set is
required.