Measures of Central Tendency

Abstract

Having dealt with the method of organising material in the form of a frequency distribution, we are now in a position to take up the consideration of methods of statistically treating the distribution. The organisation of data into class intervals, and hence into a frequency distribution, is only a preliminary step towards a definite quantitative treatment. The frequency distribution with its graphic representations may adequately represent the status of the data, but it does not enable concise and definite comparison of the features of one distribution with those of another. In order to make such comparisons we need “measures ”of the condensation and organisation of the data; we need “numerical descriptions ”of the basic features of the distribution.