DESCRIPTIVE

STATISTICAL
MEASURES
Module 3
Objectives
 Describe properties and calculate
central tendency that can be used
to initially explain some
characteristics of data.
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

 numerical values that tend to locate in

some sense the middle of a set of data
when arranged in increasing or
decreasing order
 The term average is often associated
with these measures
 mean, median, mode, midrange
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

The arithmetic mean (often just called the “mean”) is the

most common measure of central tendency.
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Characteristics of the Mean

1.It can be used for interval and ratio measurements.
2.All the scores or measurements are considered in the
computation of the mean.
3.Very high or very low scores or measurements affect the
mean.
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

 The mode of a data set is the value in the

distribution with the highest frequency.
 It locates the point where the observation values
occur with the greatest density.
 It can be used for quantitative as well as
qualitative data. The mode of a population is
denoted by 𝜇 ̂ (“mu hat”) while that of a sample
is denoted by 𝑥 ̂ (“𝑥 hat”).
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Characteristics of the Mode

1. It is very easy to compute or determine but is seldom used
because it is very unstable.
2. It is used when a rough or quick estimate of a central value is
wanted.
3. It is most appropriate for nominal scale as a measure of
popularity.
4. Not affected by extreme values.
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

 The median of a data set is the value that divides the distribution
into two equal parts (after arranging the values in ascending or
descending order). As such, it is a positional average.
 The median 𝜇 ̃ (“mu curl” or “mu tilde”) of the population or 𝑥 ̃
(“𝑥 curl” or “𝑥 tilde”) can be determined using the following
formula:
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Characteristics of the Median

1. The median is most appropriate for ordinal or ranked measurements.
2. Only the middle scores or measurements are considered in the
computation of the median.
3. Very high or very low scores do not affect the median.
4. When there are extreme values in the data set (interval or ratio
data), that is, the distribution is markedly skewed, it is more
appropriate to use the median than the mean since the extreme
values affect the mean.
5. The median is used as a basis of knowing whether cases fall within
the upper half or the lower half of a data distribution
 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

The Midrange
The mean of the highest and lowest values

Example:Find the midrange of

these values representing the
weight, in kgs., of five cargo
shipments:
27,531 15,684 5,638
27,997 and 25,433.