Central Tendency Measures

Central tendency is the middle or central value of a distribution. The three measures of central tendency are important to understand when we perform research, and when reading others' research. They provide an indication of the distribution of the data. Mode, median and mean are used to determine this number or value, depending upon the shape or form of the distribution of data (if it is evenly distributed or highly skewed), the level of measurement (if the data is nominal, ordinal or interval), and the research objective (mode is quick, easy but less exact, median is helpful for skewed scores and shows a precise measure of central tendency, and mean is appropriate for precise measure of mostly symmetrical distributions). Mean is the most common measure for central tendency, and requires interval data. Median is the middle of the distribution and uses ordinal or interval data, requiring data to be sorted in order from high to low. Mode is the most common number and it can use interval, ordinal, or nominal data.

Hatcher, L. (2013). Advanced statistics in research: reading, understanding, and writing up data analysis results. Saginaw, MI: ShadowFinch Media, LLC.

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