DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Lesson 4
Measures of Central Tendency

 Statistics that describe the location of the distribution

 extent to which all the data values group around a typical or central
value.
Most common measures of central tendency
 Mean … average value
 Median … middle value of a ranked-ordered group
 Mode … most frequent value
The Mean
 the most common measure of central tendency
 the only common measure in which all the values play an equal
role
 serves as a balance point in a set of data (like a fulcrum on a
seesaw)
 can be applied in at least interval level
 greatly affected by extreme values (avoid using the mean)
The Mean (average)

 the sum of all the data entries divided by the number of entries

Sigma Notation: σ 𝑥=add all the data entries (x) in the data set
σ𝑥
Population Mean: µ = 𝑛
σ𝑥
Sample Mean: 𝑥෤ = 𝑛
The Mean – Finding a Sample Mean
Example 1. The Statistics exam scores for a sample of 20 students are as follows:
50 53 59 59 63 63 72 72 72 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93.
Calculate the mean score of the students.

Solution:
The sum of the scores is
σ𝑥 = 50 + 53 + 59 + 59 + 63 + 63 +72 +72 +72 + 72 + 72 + 76 + 78 + 81 + 83 +
84 + 84 + 87 + 90 + 93
= 1463
The Mean – Finding a Sample Mean

To find the mean score, divide the sum of the scores by the number of scores in
the sample data

σ𝑥 1463
𝑥෤ = =
𝑛 20 = 73.15
The mean score of the students in the Statistics exam is 73.15
The Mean – Finding a Sample Mean

Example 2. A bank branch located in a commercial district of a city has

developed an improved process for serving customers during the noon-to-1:00
p.m. lunch period. The waiting time, in minutes (defined as the time the
customer enters the line to when he or she reaches the teller window), of a
sample of 15 customers during this hour is recorded over a period of one week.
The results are listed below:
4.21 5.13 3.54 6 .10 6.46
5.55 4.77 3.20 0.38 6.19
3.02 2.34 4.50 5.12 3.79

What is the average waiting time?

The Mean – Finding a Sample Mean

Solution:
σ𝑥
𝑥෤ = 𝑛

4.21+ 5.55+ 3.02+ 5.13 +4.77+ 2.34+ 3.54 +3.20 +4.50+ 6.10+ 0.38 +5.12 +6.46+ 6.19 +3.79
=
15
58.2
=
15 = 3.88

The average waiting time is 3.88

The Median
 the middle value in a set of data that has been ordered from
smallest to largest
If the data set has
 odd number of entries, the median is the middle data entry
 even number of entries, the median is the mean of the 2 middle data
entries.
 a positional measure; not affected by extreme values
 can be applied in at least ordinal
Finding the Median
Example 1. The Statistics exam scores for a sample of 20 students are as follows: 50 53
59 59 63 63 72 72 72 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93. Calculate the
median score of the students.

Solution:
Make sure the data is ordered.
50 53 59 59 63 63 72 72 72 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93
Since there are 20 entries (an even number), the median is the mean of the two middle
entries (i.e. tenth and eleventh entries)
72+72
median =
2 = 72 . The median score is 72
Finding the Median

Example 2. Suppose the three scores of 72 are removed from the data set in
Example 1, what is the median score?

Solution:
50 53 59 59 63 63 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93
Since there are 17 entries (an odd number), the median is the middle entry or the
ninth score.
The median score is 76.
The Mode

 The data entry that occurs most frequently

 A data set can have one mode, more than one mode, or no mode.
 Not affected by extreme values
 Can be used for qualitative as well as quantitative data
Finding the Mode
Example 1. The Statistics exam scores for a sample of 20 students are as follows:
50 53 59 59 63 63 72 72 72 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93.
Determine the modal score.

Solution:
Ordering the data helps to find the mode.
50 53 59 59 63 63 72 72 72 72 72 76 78 81 83 84 84 87 90 93

The score of 72 occurs five times, so the modal score of the Statistics exam is 72.
Finding the Mode

Example 2. By the end of 2019, in the Philippines, Facebook had over 146
million users. The table shows three age groups and the number of users in each
age group. What age group has the most number of Facebook users?

Age Group Number of Facebook Users (f)

13 - 25 65,082,280
26 - 44 53,300,200
45 - 64 27,885,100
Finding the Mode

Solution:
Age Group Number of Facebook Users (f)
13 - 25 65,082,280
26 - 44 53,300,200
45 - 64 27,885,100

The age group with most number (mode) of Facebook users is 13-25.
Comparing the Mean, Median and Mode

Example
Find the mean, median, and mode of the sample ages of a class shown. Which
measure of central tendency best describes a typical entry of this data set? Are
there any outliers?

Age in Class
20 20 20 20 20 20 21
21 21 21 22 22 22 23
23 23 23 24 24 65
Comparing the Mean. Median and Mode

Solution:
σ𝑥 20 + 20 + … + 24 +65 +20
𝑥෤ = = ≈ 23.8 years
𝑛 20
21 + 22
Median = = 21.5 years
2
Mode = 20 years (𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦)
The mean takes every entry into account, but is influenced by the outlier of 65.
The median also takes every entry into account, and it is not affected by the outlier.
In this case the mode exists, but it doesn't appear to represent a typical entry.
Comparing the Mean. Median and Mode

Sometimes a graphical comparison can help you decide which measure of

central tendency best represents a data set.

In this case, it appears that the

median best describes the data
set.
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

STEPS
1. Search Online Calculator for Statistics from the Web or use this link:
https://www.socscistatistics.com/descriptive/averages/default.aspx

2. To create a frequency distribution table, use the Frequency

Distribution Calculator
This tool provides a snapshot view of the characteristics of a dataset.
The calculator will also spit out a number of other descriptors of your
data - mean, median, skewness, and so on.
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

3. Enter your data into the textbox, either The following tables are generated
one value per line or as a comma
delimited list, and then hit the "Generate"
button.
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

4. Edit the frequency distribution table by Edited table in terms of the number of
using the tool below classes and by specifying the class range.
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

Edited frequency distribution table 5. Now, to find the Mean, Median and
Mode, click the Descriptive Statistics
as shown
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

6. Select the required statistical tool 7. Enter the values in the textbox. In this
(Mean, Median, Mode) from the Tools case we use the same data (scores in Stat
for Descriptive Statistics. exam - interval)
Calculating the Mean, Median and Mode Using Online Calculator

8 . Hit on Calculate button

Based on the result,

Mean = 73.15
Median = 72
Mode = 72