The Normal Curve

Measures of Central
Tendency
Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

professor, Dept. PHI, BSMMU
Measures of Central Tendency
A measure of central tendency is a single

number used to represent the center of a
group of data.
Different variables may possess different
numerical characteristics. So different measures
of central tendency may better summarize the
variable. The basic measures are the:
mean
median
mode
Measures of Central Tendency

The choice of which measure to use depends on:
the shape of the distribution (whether normal or
skewed), and
the variables level of measurement (data are
nominal, ordinal or interval).

Appropriate Measures of Central

Tendency
Nominal variables:
Mode
Ordinal variables:
Median
Interval level variables:

Mean
- If the distribution is normal (median
is better with skewed distribution)

Mean:
Mean are of three types viz.
Arithmetic mean (AM),

Geometric Mean (GM) and
Harmonic Mean (HM).
Of these, AM is the one which is most widely

used in Public Health and Medicine

Mean
Arithmetic Mean (AM)
Most Common Measure
Sum of all values/ No. of values
1
Symbolically, X
X
N
It may be noted that unless otherwise specified,
`mean indicates Arithmetic Mean.
Acts as Balance Point
Affected by Extreme Values (Outliers)
Formula (Sample Mean)
n
N
i 1
Xi
i 1
1
X1 X 2 X n

Mean Example
Raw Data:10.34.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7

n
Xi
i 1
n
10.3 4.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7
6
8.30

Measure of central tendency

The weighted mean
Group A:
n=12x 6
Group B:
n=8x 7
72 56
Weighted meanX=
1 X 2
=
12
8
n1 n2
6.4
Seriously sensitive to extreme scores.

Sensitivity to Outliers
Incomes in Private Chamber, Dhaka (population

=5)
Person
Income
(BTK)
Dabir
5,467,220
Sabir
24,780
Kabir
24,100
Khabir
19,500
Jabir
19,400
Mean
1,111,000
Which Measure is Better?
In the above example, the mean is BTK

1,111,000, the median is BTK 24,100.
Which measure is better?

Median
Measure of Central Tendency
Middle Value In Ordered Sequence

If Odd n, Middle Value of Sequence
If Even n, Average of 2 Middle Values
Not Affected by Extreme Values
Position of Median in Sequence
n 1
Positioning point
2
Median Example
Odd-Sized Sample
Raw Data:
Ordered:
Position:
24.1 22.6 21.5 23.722.6
21.5
1
22.6
2
22.6
3
23.7 24.1
4
5
n +1
Positioning Point
+1 3
2
2
Median = 22.6
Median Example
Even-Sized Sample
Raw Data:10.34.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7
Ordered:
Position:
4.9 6.3 7.7 8.9 10.3 11.7

1
2
3
4
5
6
Positioning point
n +1
2
7.7 + 8.9
Median
= 8.3
2
6 +1
2
3.5
The Mode
The mode is the:

most frequently occurring value in a group
or raw scores
value of the group that contains the most
cases in grouped data
Measure of Central Tendency
Value That Occurs Most Often
Not Affected by Extreme Values
May Be Used for Numerical & Categorical
Data
The ModeExample
Frequency Distribution
of Race in the 2000
General Social
Survey
Race
White
2,244
Black
404
Other
170
Total
2,817

Measure of central tendency
Central tendency and the shape of the

distribution

Skewness and Sample Distributions

Not all curves are normal, even if still bell-shaped

The Theoretical Normal

Curve

Properties of the Normal

Also called Bell Curve or Gaussian Curve
Curve:
Symmetrical
Unimodal
The mean of a distribution is the midpoint
of the curve
The tails of the curve are infinite
Its Mean, Median and Mode will coincide
The area under the curve is measured in
standard deviations from the mean
Properties (cont.)
Has a mean = 0 and standard deviation = 1.

General relationships:
1 s = about 68.26%
2 s = about 95.44%
3 s = about 99.72%

68-95-99.7 Rule
68% of
the data
95% of the data
99.7% of the data
How good is rule for real data?
Check some example data:

N=120
The mean of the weight of the women = 127.8
The standard deviation (SD) = 15.5

68% of 120 = .68x120 = ~ 82 runners

In fact, 79 runners fall within 1-SD (15.5 lbs)
of the mean.
112.3
127.8
143.3
25
20
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
15
10
0
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
POUNDS

150
160
95% of 120 = .95 x 120 = ~ 114

runners
In fact, 115 runners fall within 2-SDs
of the mean.
96.8
127.8
158.8
25
20
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
15
10
0
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
POUNDS

150
160
99.7% of 120 = .997 x 120 = 119.6

runners
81.3
In fact, all 120 runners fall within 3-SDs

of the mean.
127.8
174.3
25
20
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
15
10
0
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
POUNDS

150
160

The Normal Curve

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Measures of Central

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Measures of Central Tendency

A measure of central tendency is a single

Measures of Central Tendency

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Appropriate Measures of Central

Interval level variables:

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Mean are of three types viz.

Arithmetic mean (AM),

Of these, AM is the one which is most widely

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Raw Data:10.34.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7

10.3 4.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Measure of central tendency

Seriously sensitive to extreme scores.

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Incomes in Private Chamber, Dhaka (population

Which Measure is Better?

In the above example, the mean is BTK

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Measure of Central Tendency

Middle Value In Ordered Sequence

Not Affected by Extreme Values

Position of Median in Sequence

24.1 22.6 21.5 23.722.6

Raw Data:10.34.9 8.9 11.7 6.3 7.7

4.9 6.3 7.7 8.9 10.3 11.7

The mode is the:

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Measure of central tendency

Central tendency and the shape of the

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Skewness and Sample Distributions

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

The Theoretical Normal

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

Properties of the Normal

Has a mean = 0 and standard deviation = 1.

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

How good is rule for real data?

Check some example data:

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

68% of 120 = .68x120 = ~ 82 runners

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

95% of 120 = .95 x 120 = ~ 114

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

99.7% of 120 = .997 x 120 = 119.6

In fact, all 120 runners fall within 3-SDs

Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Assistant

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