MEASURES OF

CENTRAL TENDENCY
Nor-Aiam E. Asmawil
Instructor
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
 Data which have been collected, organized
and presented, need to be given meaning
and interpreted properly. Such
interpretation would depend primarily on the
purpose intended by the investigator.
 Central tendency, is a method of
description, refers to the inclination of scores
to gather or cluster around a certain point of
scores in the frequency table.
 Among the various types of averages, the
most commonly used are MEAN, MEDIAN,
and MODE. Quartiles, Deciles and percentiles
are also measures of central tendency.
The Mean
 It is the most popular measure of position. It is used
when we wish to describe a set of data where the item,
values or scores tend to concentrate or cluster.
 Characteristics
1. The value is highly and arithmetically defined and
dependent on all value in the distribution.
2. It is affected by extreme values.
3. The sum of all deviations about the mean is zero.
4. It can be subjected to numerous mathematical
computations.
5. It is the most widely used and most reliable among the
three measures.
 Types of Mean
(x )
1.The Arithmetic Mean
 the sum of all values or terms in a distribution
divided by the total number of items.

Formula:
For Ungrouped data

x  x
where:

x = sum of all values

n n = total number of items
 Example
1. Determine the average daily earnings of 10 workers
as follows:
100, 125, 120, 150, 200, 165, 145, 120, 120, 150
Solution:

x
 DailyEarnings 1395
no.ofwor ker s
earnings of  139.50 average daily

10
10 workers
 Mean For Grouped Data

The Midpoint Method

 Formula:

x
 fM where:

n  f Frequency of a given class

M= midpoint of the
class
Example
2. Given the frequency distribution of ages of
the members of an NGO, determine their
average. AGES Frequency
(f)
55-59 3
50-54 5
45-49 7
40-44 9
35-39 12
30-34 8
25-29 5
20-24 1
N=
Solution
AGES Frequency (f) Midpoint (M) f(M)
55-59 3 57 171
50-54 5 52 260 x
 fM
45-49 7 47 n
329
40-44 9 42 378 1995
35-39 12

37 444 50
30-34 8 32 256
25-29 5 27 135
x 39.9
20-24 1 22 22
N= 50
 fM 1995
2. The Weighted Mean x w 
 themeasure used in cases where the items
are of different degrees of importance. Each
item is given a weight correspondent to its
relative importance in the group.
 Formula:

xw 
 wx
w
Example
3. Find the average grade of the student whose grades
for different subjects are given below.
Subject Units Grades wx
(w) (x)
Math 5 70
Science 4 90
English 3 80
P.E. 2 85
w  wx 
Solution
Subject Units Grades wx
(w) (x) xw 
 wx
Math 5 70 350 w
Science 4 90 360 1120
English 3 80 240 
P.E. 2 85 170
14
 w 14  wx 1120 x w 80
The Trimmed or Truncated Mean xt 

the average of the observations

remaining after removal of the
highest and lowest observations.
Example
3. Shown are the ratings of evaluators on the
performances of three candidates for promotion.
Determine who gets promoted if the trimmed mean of
the ratings will be used as basis for promotion.
Candidates’ Ratings
Evaluators X Y Z
1 8 9 10
2 9 8 8
3 7 9 8
4 8 9 7
5 10 5 7
6 8 8 9
7 8 9 8
 Candidates’ Ratings 1. Remove one
Evaluators X Y Z highest value and
one lowest value
1 8 9 10
2 9 8 8 2. Find the mean of
3 7 9 8 each of the
4 8 9 7 remaining scores of
5 10 5 7 the candidates.
3. Rank their means.
6 8 8 9
7 8 9 8
Mean x x 8.2 x y 8.6 x z 8 8 8 7 9 8
xz 
Rank 2 1 3 5
8 9 8 8 8 9 8 9 8 9
40
xx  xy  
5 5 5
41 43 x z 8
 
5 5
x x 8.2 x y 8.6
The MEDIAN (Mdn)
 The median is the most centrally located
value in a set of values or the mean of the
values of the middle two items/terms when
the items are arranged in order of magnitude.
 When measures are ranked, the position of
the median is such that approximately half of
the measures are above and half are below.
 Ittherefore, divides the whole set of the idea
into two equal groups.
Characteristics of Median

1.It is not affected by extreme values.

2.It is used when the exact midpoint
of the distribution is wanted, the
50% point
3.It is less widely used than the
Mean.
 The Median for Ungrouped Data
 STEPS:

1. Arrange the item in order of magnitude.

2. If n is odd, the median is the value of the
middle term.  n  1 
Mdn   th _ term
 2 
3. If n is even, the median is the arithmetic
mean of the two middle values.  n n  
   th _ term    1 th _ term 
2 2 
Mdn    
 2 
 
 
Example
Determine the median of the following
set of numbers.

a)22 23 25 24 22 35 28 27 30
a)27 22 41 28 22 30 23 35 25 24
 Solution
a)22 23 25 24 22 35 28 27 30
22 22 23 24 25 27 28 30 35 N 9
b) 27 22 41 28 22 30 23 35 25 24
22 22 23 24 25 27 28 30 35 41 N 10
  10   10 
a)  9 1 
b) 
Mdn  
 th _ term  
2   2

 1 th _ term



Mdn   th _ term  2 
 2  



 10   5th _ term  6th _ term 
  th _ term  
 2  2 
25  27
5th _ term 
2
Mdn 25 
52
2
Mdn 26
The Median for Grouped Data
Where:
 Steps:  LB = lower
boundary of the
1. Divide the total number of observation (n) by 2 that
midmost of
is the n/2 value. class interval.
2. Determine the mid-most class interval of the  fb =
distribution by determining the cumulative cumulative
frequency
frequencies from the lower end of the distribution below the mid-
greater than or equal to n/2. most class
 n  interval.
3. Use the formula:
 2  fb   f m = frequency
Mdn  LB  c   of the mid-most
 fm  class interval
   c = Class size
 n = total
number of
items.
Example
2. Find the median of the frequency
distribution of ages of the members of an
NGO. AGES Frequency
(f)
55-59 3
50-54 5
45-49 7
40-44 9
35-39 12
30-34 8
25-29 5
20-24 1
N=
 n 
Solution n 50  2  fb 
AGES Frequency (f) <cf 2

2
25 Mdn  LB  c  
f
 m 
55-59 3 50 LB 34.5  
50-54 5 c 5
47  25  14 
f b 14 34.5  5
45-49 7 42  12 
f m 12
40-44 9 35  11 
34.5  5 
35-39 12 f m 26  12 
LB Mid-most Class Interval
30-34 8  55 
14 34.5   
25-29 5 f  12 
6
b  55 
20-24 1 1 34.5   
 12 
N= 50
34.5  4.58
Mdn 39.08
The MODE (Mo)
 It is sometimes referred to as the inspectional or
observational average. It is the element or score with
the highest set of frequency in a set of ungroup data.
For the grouped data, it lies within the Modal Class or
the class with the highest frequency. It is the value
which predominates a certain group.
 Characteristics:
1. Like the median it is not affected by the highest value.
2. It is used when a quick approximate measures of
central tendency is all that is wanted.
Example
For Ungrouped Data:
Determine the mode of the given set of
numbers
2 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 2
5 8 9 3 5 6 0 8 0 2 5 7
Solution
1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3
8 9 3 5 5 5 6 7 8 0 0 2
Mo=25
Mode for Grouped Data
Where:
Formula  LB = Lower boundary or the
modal class.
d1 = Absolute difference in the
 d1 

frequencies of the modal class
Mo LB  C   and the immediate preceding

 d1  d 2  class (from the lower end of

the distribution)
 d2 = Absolute difference in the
frequencies of the modal class
and the immediate preceding
class.
Example
For Grouped Data:
Find the mode of the frequency distribution of ages of
the members of an NGO.AGES Frequency
(f)
55-59 3
50-54 5
45-49 7
40-44 9
35-39 12
30-34 8
25-29 5
20-24 1
N=
Solution
LB 34.5  d1 
Mo LB  C  
AGES Frequency
c 5 d
 1  d 2 
(f)
55-59 3 d1 | 12  8 |  4 
34.5  5 
50-54 5 d1 4  4  3 
45-49 7  4
40-44 9 d 2 | 12  9 | 34.5  5 
35-39 12 Modal Class d 2 3  7
30-34 8  20 
34.5   
25-29 5  7 
20-24 1 34.5  2.85
N= 50 Mo 37.36
THAT’S ALL…

THANK YOU!