Measures of Central Tendency

1.Define Discrete and Continuous variable with example?

Or
What is the difference between Discrete and Continuous variable
Quantitative Variables can be divided into the following two types : Continuous and Discrete
Continuous Variable It is the one that can take any value within the range of numbers.
For ex: 1. Height or weight of individuals can be of any value within the limits like weight :
64.200kg, 68kg, or 52.600 kgs etc. The variation is continuous in nature.
Discrete variable is the one whose values change by steps and cannot assume a fractional value.
For Ex: No of children in a family, number of workers in a company, No of students in a class
2.Write the empirical relationship between mean, median and mode ?
In a unimodal and symmetrical distribution, the values of mean, median and mode are equal. But
when these three values are not equal to each other, the distribution is asymmetrical distribution.
For an asymmetrical distribution, Karl Person has suggested a relationship between three
measures of central tendency - mean, median, and mode as
Mode = 3 Median -2 mean
3.What is meant by central tendency? What are the different measures of it? Also list the
prerequisites of good measures of central tendency?
(7 Marks)
The numerical value (central value) of an observation around which most numerical values of
other observations in the data set show a tendency to cluster or group, called central tendency.
This central value describe the entire characteristic of the entire data set.
Measure of Central tendency are of following types.
1. Mathematical average
a. Arithmetical mean
i. Simple mean
ii. Weighted mean
b. Geometric mean
c. Harmonic mean
2. Positional Averages
Prepared by : Mrs. Aparna. J.varma, Assistant Professor, G.S.S.S.I.M.S, Mysore Page 1

a. Median
b. Quartiles
c. Deciles
d. Percentiles
e. Mode
Prerequisites of a good measure of central tendency
1. It should be rigidly defined and easily understandable.
2. It should be simple to compute and in the form of mathematical formula.
3. It should be based on all the observations in the data set.
4. It should not be unduly affected by extreme observations.
5. It should be capable of further mathematical treatment.
6. It should have sampling stability.
4. Distinguish between positional average and mathematical average?

(4 Marks)

1.Mathematical average
a) Arithmetical mean
i. Simple mean
ii. Weighted mean
b) Geometric mean
c) Harmonic mean
2.Positional Averages
d)Median
e) Quartiles
f) Deciles
g ) Percentiles
h) Mode
Mathematical averages like A.M, G.M and H.M are mathematical in nature and deal with those
characteristics of a data set which can be directly measured quantitatively such as income,
profit, level of production etc.
Positional averages like Median, Quartiles, Deciles, percentiles and Mode deal with the
position/place of the value of an observation in the data set. These measures of central tendency
are used to measure the qualitative characteristics of a data set.
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4. Explain the relationship between mean, median and mode through appropriate graphs/
diagrams for the three distribution shapes viz., symmetrical, skewed to the right and
skewed to the left.
(7 Marks)

Look at the above figure (b) and note that when a variable is normally distributed, the
mean, median, and mode are the same number.
Therefore when data are normally distributed
Mean = Median = Mode
When the variable is skewed to the left (i.e., negatively skewed), figure (a) the mean
shifts to the left the most, the median shifts to the left the second most, and the mode the least
affected by the presence of skew in the data.
Therefore, when the data are negatively skewed:
mean < median < mode.

When the variable is skewed to the right (i.e., positively skewed), figure (c ) the mean is
shifted to the right the most, the median is shifted to the right the second most, and the mode the
least affected.
Therefore, when the data are positively skewed:
mean > median > mode.
5. What are the desirable properties of an average ? Under which circumstances would it
be appropriate to use mean, median and mode
(7 Marks)
Desirable properties of an average or Prerequisites of a good measure of central tendency
1. It should be rigidly defined and easily understandable.
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2. It should be simple to compute and in the form of mathematical formula.

3. It should be based on all the observations in the data set.
4. It should not be unduly affected by extreme observations.
5. It should be capable of further mathematical treatment.
6. It should have sampling stability.
Under which circumstances would it be appropriate to use mean, median and mode ?
Mean or A.M
As A.M takes into account all the value in the distribution, in cases where we wish to make total
value estimates mean is the most appropriate average. A.M is not to be recommended while
dealing with frequency distribution with extreme observations or open end classes.
Median
Median is generally the best average in open-ended grouped distribution where if plotted as a
frequency curve one gets a J or reverse J curve. In case of qualitative data which cant be
measured quantitatively (ex: for finding average intelligence, honesty, beauty etc.) median is the
only average to be used.
Mode
Along with median, mode is also an average to be used while dealing with open end classes.
Mode is particularly useful average for discrete series ex: number of people wearing a given size
of shoe or number of children per house hold etc. The mode is best suited where there is an
outstandingly large frequency. Mode is particularly used in business problems involving the
expression of preferences where quantitative measurements are not possible. For ex: If we want
to compare consumer preferences for different kinds of products or different kinds of advertising
we can compare the modal preference expressed by different group of people.
6. Distinguish between Parameter and Statistic?

(3 Marks)

Population parameter or parameter - A numerical value used as a summary measure using data of
the population. i.e A parameter is any number calculated from a population.
Sample Statistic or Statistic A numerical value used as a summary measure using data of the
sample for estimation or hypothesis testing. i.e A statistic is any number calculated from a
sample.
A Parameter measures something in a Population, and a Statistic measures something in a
Sample.
For Example : Suppose we study the population of men in Mysore City. A parameter of this
population would be the mean height of all men in the city. A statistic would be the mean height
of 50 of these men.
5. What is the difference between population and sample?

(3 Marks)

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Populations consist of everything or everybody the researcher want to measure; for example,
all men in the Mysore city between the ages of 18 and 54. The light bulbs that are
manufacturing in a plant. Every human being on planet earth. These are all populations.
A sample consists of as random a selection of objects or persons in a population as possible
(called a sampling frame). To use the above examples, we can talk about 500 men in the Mysore
city between the ages of 18 and 54. 10 light bulbs manufactured at this plant in the last year.
At least 3 people from every country in the world. These are all samples.
6. Name various measures of central tendency. Hence explain any one of them.

(6 Marks)

Arithmetic mean
Arithmetic mean is also called arithmetic average. It is most commonly used measures of central
tendency. Arithmetic average of a series is the value obtained by dividing the total value of various item
by its number.
Arithmetic average are of two types
a. Simple arithmetic average
b. Weighted arithmetic average
Simple arithmetic average (Mean)
Arithmetic mean is simply sometimes referred as Mean. Ex: Mean income, Mean expenses,
Mean marks etc.
Unlike other averages, mean has to be computed by considering each and every observations in
the series. Hence, the mean cannot be found by either by inspection or observation of items.
Simple arithmetic mean is equal to sum of the variable divided by their number of observations in the
sample.
Let xi is the variable which takes values x 1, x2, x3, xn over n items, then arithmetic mean,
simply the mean of x, denoted by bar over the variable x is given by.

x 1 x 2 x 3 ............... x n
n

x
n

Where, is the Greek symbol sigma denotes the summation of all xi values.

1. Weighted arithmetic mean

The weighted mean is computed by considering the relative importance of each of values to the
total value. The arithmetic mean gives equal importance to all the items of distribution. In certain cases,
relative importance of items is not the same. To give relative importance, weightage may be given to
variables depending on cases. Thus, weightage represents the relative importance of the items.
The weighted arithmetic mean in computed by following equation.
Prepared by : Mrs. Aparna. J.varma, Assistant Professor, G.S.S.S.I.M.S, Mysore Page 5

Let

x1, x2, x3, xn are the variables and

w1, w2, w3, wn are the respective weights assigned. Then weighted mean x w is given
by below equation.
xw

x 1 w 1 x 2 w 2 x 3 w 3 ...... x n w n

w 1 w 2 w 3 ............ w n

xw
w

i.e., weighted average is the ratio of product of all values and respective weights to sum of
weights.

Combined Mean
Combined arithmetic mean can be computed if we know the mean and number of items in each
groups of the data.
The following equation is used to compute combined mean.
Let x 1 & x 2 are the mean of first and second group of data containing n 1 & n2 items
respectively.
Then, combined mean = x12

n1 x1 n 2 x 2
n1 n 2

If there are 3 groups then x123

n1 x1 n2 x 2 n3 x3
n1 n2 n3

Merits of Arithmetic Mean

1. It is simple and easy to compute.
2. It is rigidly defined.
3. It can be used for further calculation.
4. It is based on all observations in the series.
5. It helps for direct comparison.
6. It is more stable measure of central tendency (ideal average).
Limitations / Demerits of Mean
1. It is unduly affected by extreme items.
2. It is sometimes un-realistic.
3. It may leads to confusion.
4. Suitable only for quantitative data (for variables).
5. It can not be located by graphical method or by observations.
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Median
Median is the value of that item in a series which divides the array into two equal parts, one
consisting of all the values less than it and other consisting of all the values more than it. Median is a
positional average. The number of items below it is equal to the number. The number of items below it is
equal to the number of items above it. It occupies central position.
Thus, Median is defined as the mid value of the variants. If the values are arranged in ascending
or descending order of their magnitude, median is the middle value of the number of variant is odd and
average of two middle values if the number of variants is even.
Merits of Median
a. It is simple, easy to compute and understand.
b. Its value is not affected by extreme variables.
c. It is capable for further algebraic treatment.
d. It can be determined by inspection for arrayed data.
e. It can be found graphically also.
f.

It indicates the value of middle item.

Demerits of Median
a. It may not be representative value as it ignores extreme values.
b. It cant be determined precisely when its size falls between the two values.
c. It is not useful in cases where large weights are to be given to extreme values.

Mode
It is the value which occurs with the maximum frequency. It is the most typical or common value
that receives the height frequency. It represents fashion and often it is used in business. Thus, it
corresponds to the values of variable which occurs most frequently. The model class of a frequency
distribution is the class with highest frequency. It is denoted by z or M 0.
Mode is the value of variable which is repeated the greatest number of times in the series. It is
the usual, and not casual, size of item in the series. It lies at the position of greatest density.
Merits
a)Mode is easy to calculate and understand. Mode class can be located by inspection.
b) Mode is not at all affected by extreme observations. The mode value can also be calculated for openended frequency distributions.
The mode can be used to describe qualitative as well as quantitative data.
Demerits
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Mode is not rigidly defined.

It is difficult to locate modal class in the case of multi-modal frequency distribution
Mode is not suitable for further mathematical treatment

Partition values
Median divides in to two equal parts. There are other values also which divides the series
partitioned value (PV).
Just as one point divides as series in to two equal parts (halves), 3 points divides in to four points
(Quartiles) 9 points divides in to 10 points (deciles) and 99 divide in to 100 parts (percentage). The
partitioned values are useful to know the exact composition of series.
Quartiles
A measure, which divides an array, in to four equal parts is known as quartile. Each portion
contain equal number of items. The first second and third point are termed as first quartile (Q 1). Second
quartile (Q2) and third quartile (Q3). The first quartile is also known as lower quartiles as 25% of
observation of distribution below it, 75% of observations of the distribution below it and 25% of
observation above it.

Deciles
The deciles divide the arrayed set of variates into ten portions of equal frequency and they are
some times used to characterize the data for some specific purpose. In this process, we get nine decile
values. The fifth decile is nothing but a median value.

Percentiles
Percentile value divides the distribution into 100 parts of equal frequency. In this process, we get
ninety-nine percentile values. The 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles are nothing but quartile first, median and
third quartile values respectively.
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