A measure of central tendency is a summary statistic that represents the center point or typical value of a dataset. These measures indicate where most values in a distribution fall and are also referred to as the central location of a distribution. You can think of it as the tendency of data to cluster around a middle value. In statistics, the three most common measures of central tendency are the mean, median, and mode. Each of these measures calculates the location of the central point using a different method.
Choosing the best measure of central tendency depends on the type of data you have.
For more information about measures of central tendency, visit Measures of Central Tendency: Mea, Media, and Mode by Jim Frost.
If you have any additional questions or need assistance with your research, please contact a librarian today.
The Robert Block Library is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.
Email to library@ussa.edu
Phone: (251) 445-0378