When to use median as the best measure of central tendency
Information Research Design LS 6010 assignment 3
July 9, 2019The University Bookstore Student Computer Purchase Program
July 9, 2019A researcher has determined that the distribution of annual salaries of NBA players is bell-shaped and symmetrical about the meansalary, do you think that introducing Michael Jordan’s last annual salary of more than $30 million would skew this distribution? Explain why or why not. What would be the best measure of central tendencyfor this distribution? Explain.
The mean is usually the preferred measure for central tendency since the mean takes the arithmetic average from the distribution. If data are continuous with a symmetrical distribution, mean is the best measure of central tendency. However, there are times when the mean is not the best fit for the central tendency.
In the following situations, the median is the preferred measure:
1. When the skewed distribution is certain
2. When there is some possibility that the distribution could be skewed
3. …
The solution provides a detailed explanation when to use median as the best measure of central tendency.
