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A median is a form of average. What we usually think of as an average is more correctly know as the mean. It is the total of the numbers divided by the amount of numbers. The median is the middle number in a set of numbers, when they are listed in numerical order. If you had a list of numbers and one of these was much higher than all the rest, then the mean might not really represent a true reflection of the average as we think of it. Say your numbers were 11, 15, 30, 1200, 4, 19 and 10. Getting the average of those is going to give 184.1429 which isn't really a good representation. The 1200 is causing that value to be considerably higher than most of the numbers. In this case using the median is better. Listing the numbers in order and finding the middle one gives us 15. The median will therefore be 15, which looks more realistic. See the related questions below for more information.

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Q: How is median used?
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Related questions

Should The mean or median be used in ordinal data?

The median is used when reporting ordinal data.


What is the median in mathematical terms?

median is used to refer to the middle number in a group.


What is the measure of central tendency for nominal and ordinal data?

The mode can be used with both kinds of data. The median may be used with ordinal data but great care is required if the median falls between two classes of observations.The mode can be used with both kinds of data. The median may be used with ordinal data but great care is required if the median falls between two classes of observations.The mode can be used with both kinds of data. The median may be used with ordinal data but great care is required if the median falls between two classes of observations.The mode can be used with both kinds of data. The median may be used with ordinal data but great care is required if the median falls between two classes of observations.


Can the median be used to describe categorical data?

no it cant bec


When is the median used rather than the mean?

The question will specify.


When do you used the measure of central tendency?

Mean, Median, and Mode


Is the range used to compute the median or standard deviation?

Neither.


Can the median be used to describe both categorical data and numerical data?

Can the median and mode be used to describe both categorical data and numerical data


In deciding which average to use which is most and worst reliable out of mean modal and median?

The mean is used for evenly spread data, and median for skewed data. Not sure when the mode should be used.


How is a frequency distribution used?

it is used to find mean<median and mode of grouped data


Can the median be used to describe both a categorical data and numerical data?

No. A median makes no sense for categorical data. For example, if you have 10 red cars, 15 blue cars and 20 black cars, what is the median?


What is the median of 1 3 5 9 10?

The median is 5.The median is 5.The median is 5.The median is 5.