The Average Or Mean VS The Median - Difference Between The Mean And The Median
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- čas přidán 27. 05. 2024
- In this video we discuss the difference between the mean, or average and the median of a data set. We go through an example and cover how skewed data sets can affect the mean and median.
Transcript/notes
The average mean vs the median
Two statistics that are often used to provide us with information to help in decision making are the average or the mean, and the median, and these are considered measures of central tendency. In this video we are going to compare these.
Lets say that this is a data set of the amount of money spent by 10 different couples at a restaurant.
To calculate the mean or average, we add up all the values and divide by the total number of values. Adding them up we get $625, and there are 10 total values. So, $625 divided by 10 equals $62.50, which is the mean or average spent per couple.
Now for the median, which is the middle value, or between the middle values. Since we have 10 total values, and an even number of values, it will be between the middle values. We will arrange the values in ascending or increasing order, draw a line here in the middle, where we have 5 values lower, and 5 values higher. And add these 2 middle values together and divide that total by 2, which gives us $53, which is our median.
So, we have an average of $62.50 and a median of $53, a $9.50 difference.
Both of these tools, the average and the median, can be influenced by the skew of the data. For instance, a symmetrical distribution, as you see in this graph, has some high and some low values, and some values in between. So, the mean, and median will lie near the middle.
In a positively skewed distribution, the higher values in the data set will pull the mean upwards, and the median will be less than the mean, and more towards the center of the graph.
And in a negatively skewed distribution, the lower values will pull the mean downwards, the median will again be near the center of the graph, higher than the mean.
Here is a dot plot for our example data set of money spent by couples, and you can see this $133 data point is really far away from the other data points, so this is pulling the average upwards.
The mean or average is the most used measure of central tendency, because it uses all of the values in a data set. But, for data from a skewed data set the median can be more beneficial because it isn’t influenced by extremely large or small values. So, the median is less sensitive to outliers.
In statistics, it’s always a good idea to look at the mean or average, the median and also take a look at a dot plot or other type of graph to see if the data is skewed in any way.
Timestamps
0:00 Measures of central tendency
0:18 How to calculate the mean or average
0:39 How to calculate or find the median
1:14 How skewed data affects the mean and median
1:50 Example dot plot comparing the mean and median
2:05 Differences between the mean and median
Such a good explanation. Crazy ending!😄
Short and sweet.
Super succinct refresher explanation for us gen xer’s who haven’t seen a classroom in a few years. Thanks!
✋
Thank you, this was wonderfully explained, couldn't have asked for more.
Very clearly explained, thank you.
very helpful and simply explained which is perfect for these kind of concepts
I was really looking for a simple explanation for this. Thank you so much! :)
Well Done!
Thanks, Bro!
thank you
tysm!
ooooo, k yea i shoulda looked this up years ago
you only explained it for when there's an even number of values. what do you do if it's uneven? add the middle 3 and divide by 3?
Just take the middle value if it is odd. When it is even you have to take the average of two points since there is no middle one.
@@deiv1229 oh i feel dumb, thanks for pointing that out :)
I have a statistics final test tomorrow mansoura university ,Egypt .thanks alot peace ,mercy love from Egypt I hope I can do well
Good luck on your exam my friend!
nice video, but what a very weirdly specific example "money spent by couples" ....
If there is an Arabic translation you can activate for the videos it d be toooo easier specially for nutrition videos which are great
Hello May Hamed. I put the English captions in all of my videos before I publish them, and there is an auto-translate function that will display the captions (text) of any of my videos in many different languages. If you hit the closed captions (cc) icon in the bottom right of the video, as you hover over the video, this will bring up the English captions. You can then hit the settings icon, also in the lower right corner, and a pop up box will appear. In that box, to the right of the subtitles, click on English (auto-generated) and another pop up box will appear. In that box, click on Auto-translate, and this will give you a listing of many types of languages you can choose from. I believe you can use this for most videos on YT. I will link a video below where a guy shows exactly how to do this. YT should do a better job of letting everyone on the platform know about this feature.
czcams.com/video/LZz03myFuWA/video.html
@@whatsupdude2778 I really can't thank you enough .it worked .thank you sooo much I appreciate it and I'm so grateful
I don’t pay for alcohol. Who ordered $133 worth of shit?