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Mean, Median Mode (definitions)
Mean is the average, mode is the most occurring, median is the middle value
When do you use the mean?
The mean is used when you want to find the average of a set of numbers, especially when the data is normally distributed and not skewed by outliers. It is helpful with continuous values like age.
When do you use the median?
The median is used when you want to find the middle value of a data set, particularly when the data is skewed or contains outliers (ie. income). It provides a better representation of central tendency in such cases. It is especially useful for ordinal (categorical) data (ie. education levels).
When do you use the mode?
The mode is best used with nominal variables (ie. offense types). It is particularly useful for identifying the most frequently occurring value in a data set, especially when there are multiple modes or no clear central tendency.
More about the mode
greatest possibility for occurence
use in criminology and terrorism
bi-modal distribution- there are two modes with the greatest frequency
uni-modal - one mode with the greatest frequency
the mode is easy to comprehend and calculate, but it ignores data outside the most occurring number
More about the median
middle-most score
not appropriate for nominal data, since it’s unordered
best measure for skewed data (data with outliers)
It is easy to understand, and used in graphical displays of data, not influenced by outliers
What can make data positively skewed?
A few extremely high values or outliers can pull the mean to the right, resulting in a positively skewed distribution.
What can make data negatively skewed?
A few extremely low values or outliers can pull the mean to the left, resulting in a negatively skewed distribution.
If data is positively or negatively skewed, where will the mean fall?
on the tail
