How to Compute and Interpret the Mean, Median, and Mode MVS 250 – V.

 Katch Page 1

How to Compute and Interpret Measures of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, and

Mode)

Objective: Learn how to compute and interpret and when to use measures of central

tendency including the mean, median, and mode

Keywords and Concepts

1. Mean 6. X

2. Median 7. 50th percentile

3. Mode 8. Most frequently occurring score

4. Central tendency 9. Best measure of central tendency

5. Midpoint or middle of data 10. Skewed data

The mean, median and mode, common measures of central tendency, represent

either a typical or representative score and/or a value about which the data tend to

center.

A measure of central tendency frequently lies at the midpoint

or middle of a data set.

Mean

The arithmetic average (termed the mean and abbreviated as X

) represents the most appropriate measure of central tendency

for continuous-type data. It is obtained by adding all of the

scores and dividing this sum by the number of scores

€X
Mean ( X ) = N (eq. 1)
How to Compute and Interpret the Mean, Median, and Mode MVS 250 – V. Katch Page 2

where the mean can be denoted by X (pronounced ”X-bar”) for samples and µ

(pronounced “mu”) when dealing with populations; ∑ denotes summation of a set of

values; X represents the individual raw scores, and N equals the number of scores.

Example Mean Calculations

Compute the mean of the following scores placed in ascending order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

6, 7, 8, 9, 10:

Step 1. Sum up the scores.

∑X = 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 = 55

Step 2. Divide ∑X by the total number of scores or data points (in this example

10).

€X
= 55 ÷ 10 (eq. 2)
N

= 5.5

Median

The median of a set of scores represents the middle value (50th

percentile) when the scores are arranged as an array in order of

increasing (or decreasing) magnitude. The median is often

˜  (pronounced “X-tilde”). The median often
denoted by X 

becomes a more appropriate (representative) measure of central

tendency when the data are skewed— that is, the majority of

scores tend to accumulate toward either the high or low end of

the distribution with a few extreme scores at the opposite end.

To locate the median, first rank the scores and follow these two guidelines:
How to Compute and Interpret the Mean, Median, and Mode MVS 250 – V. Katch Page 3

1. For an odd number of scores, the median is the middle score.

2. For an even number of scores, the median is the mean (arithmetic average) of

the two middle scores.

Example Median Calculations

Example #1

Compute the median for these five scores: 10, 30, 27, 29, 12.

Step 1. Arrange the scores in ascending order.

10, 12, 27, 29, 30

Step 2. Because the number of total scores equals 5, an odd number,

the third number (27) is the raw score at the exact middle and
˜  .
becomes the median X 

Example #2

Compute the median for these six scores: 5, 6, 8, 50, 10, 70.

Step 1. Arrange the scores in ascending order

5, 6, 8, 10, 50, 70

Step 2. Because the number of scores equals 6, an even number;

compute the average of the values for the third and fourth

“middle” scores. The arithmetic average of these raw scores of 8

˜  , a score of 9.
and 10 equals the X 

Mode

The mode (denoted by M) represents the most frequently

occurring score. When two scores occur with the same greatest
How to Compute and Interpret the Mean, Median, and Mode MVS 250 – V. Katch Page 4

frequency, each one equals the mode and the data set is

considered bimodal. When more than two scores occur with the

greatest frequency, the data set is said to be multimodal.

To determine the mode, locate the most frequently appearing number.

Example Calculations

Compute the mode of the following ten scores: 10, 29, 26, 28, 15, 10, 25, 27, 10, 29:

The mode, M, equals 10

Round-off Rule

Carry one more decimal place than present in the original set of numbers.

Round-off only the final answer, not intermediate values. For example, the mean of the

numbers 2, 3, and 5 equals 3.33333,which is then rounded to 3.3. [Because the original

data were whole numbers, the answer rounds to the nearest tenth.] The mean of the

numbers 2.1, 3.4, and 5.7 rounds to 3.73 (one more decimal place than used for the

original values).

The Best Central Tendency Measure

There is no single “best” measure of central tendency. The different

measures of central tendency have different advantages and

disadvantages as summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Unique aspects of mean, median, and mode.

Takes every Affected
Advantages/
Average Definition How common Existence score into by extreme
Disadvantages
account? scores?
Takes every
Mean X =∑X÷N Most familiar Always
Yes Yes score into
average exists account/
affected by
extreme scores
How to Compute and Interpret the Mean, Median, and Mode MVS 250 – V. Katch Page 5

Good choice if
Commonly Always
Median Middle score No No there are
used exists
extreme scores
Most Appropriate
Rarely used Always
Mode frequent No No for nominal
exists
score data
Comments: For a symmetrical distribution of data with one mode, the mean, median, and mode are
about the same value.

“The Average Male”

The “average” American male is named
“Robert”; he is 31 years old, 5 ft 9 1/2 in
tall, weighs 172 pounds; wears a size 40
suit, and 9 1/2 inch shoes; he has a 34
inch waist. Each year “Robert” will eat
12.3 pounds of pasta, 26 pounds of
bananas, 4 pounds of potato chips, 18
pounds of ice cream, and 79 pounds of
beef; he will watch 2567 hours of
television per year and get 585 pieces of
mail; he will get 7.7 hours of sleep per
night and commute 21 minutes to work,
at which he will work for 6.1 hours.
Robert will marry 1.4 times and have 2.1
children.