Discuss Median in Statistics?

Data Science, AI and ML
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#1

The median is the middle number in a sorted, ascending or descending list of numbers and can be more descriptive of that data set than the average. It is the point above and below which half (50%) the observed data falls, and so represents the midpoint of the data. For example, in a data set of {3, 13, 2, 34, 11, 26, 47}, the sorted order becomes {2, 3, 11, 13, 26, 34, 47}. The median is the number in the middle {2, 3, 11, 13, 26, 34, 47}, which in this instance is 13 since there are three numbers on either side.

  • The median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers and can be more descriptive of that data set than the average.
  • The median is sometimes used as opposed to the mean when there are outliers in the sequence that might skew the average of the values.
  • If there is an odd amount of numbers, the median value is the number that is in the middle, with the same amount of numbers below and above.
  • If there is an even amount of numbers in the list, the middle pair must be determined, added together, and divided by two to find the median value.
  • In a normal distribution, the median is the same as the mean and the mode.

Understanding the Median

Median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers. To determine the median value in a sequence of numbers, the numbers must first be sorted, or arranged, in value order from lowest to highest or highest to lowest. The median can be used to determine an approximate average, or mean, but is not to be confused with the actual mean.

  • If there is an odd amount of numbers, the median value is the number that is in the middle, with the same amount of numbers below and above.
  • If there is an even amount of numbers in the list, the middle pair must be determined, added together, and divided by two to find the median value.