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The Best Average - Considering Skew and Outliers

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If we have student scores of 4.0, 3.7, 3.7, 3.7, 1.0 the average would be 3.2 while the median and the mode would both be 3.7. Which is the best measure of the average? Discuss the concept of skew in relation to this data set. Consider any outliers' effects on the different averages as well.

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Solution Summary

The best average for a skew and outliers is examined.

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When discussion about measures of the center, we should to look at the shape of the data. For example, it appears in this data that there is most of the data on the right side of the picture around 3.7, but that there is one unusually low data point around 1.0. That is to say that this data is skewed to the left. For data where there are extreme values or outliers, the mean is not always the best choice because this value is influenced by outliers. That is, one very small or very large outlier ...

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