Measures of Central Tendency and Variability
Central tendency is a statistical measure that identifies a single score as representative of an entire distribution of scores. The goal of central tendency is to find the single score that is most typical or most representative of the entire distribution. Unfortunately, there is no single, standard procedure for determining central tendency. The problem is that there is no single measure that will always produce a central, representative value in every situation. There are three main measures of central tendency: the arithmetical mean, the median and the mode. The mean of a set of scores (abbreviated M) is the most common and useful measure of central tendency. The mean is the sum of the scores divided by the total number of scores. The mean is commonly known as the arithmetic average. The mean can only be used for variables at the interval or ratio levels of measurement. The mean Continue reading