DATA PROCESSING

Measures of Central Tendency

It often becomes difficult to comprehend the whole data and we have to obtain a single
representative value for the entire data. This single value usually lies near the centre of a
distribution rather than at either extreme. The statistical techniques used to find out the centre
of distributions are referred as measures of central tendency. The most important measures of
central tendency are:

1. Mean

2. Median and

3. Mode

Mean

It is the most simple and commonly used measure of central tendency. It is calculated by
summing all the values and dividing it by the number of observations. Mean can be calculated
by direct or indirect methods, for both grouped and ungrouped data.

Computing Mean from Ungrouped Data:

Direct Method:

We can use the following formula to calculate the mean from ungrouped data by the direct
method:

X = X
N

Where,

X = Mean

 = Summation of all values of X

X is the variable

N = Number of observations
Indirect Method:

For a large number of observations, the indirect method is normally used to compute the mean.
We can use the following formula to calculate the mean from ungrouped data by the indirect
method:

X=A+ d
N

Where,

X = Mean

A = Assumed Mean, d = sum of the coded scores,

N = Number of individual observations in a series.

Exercise 1: Compute the mean rainfall for Malwa Plateau in Madhya Pradesh from the
rainfall of the districts of the region given in Table 1.

Table 1 : Calculation of Mean Rainfall

Sl. Normal Rainfall

Districts in Malwa Plateau
No. (In mms)

1 Indore 979

2 Dewas 1083

3 Dhar 833

4 Ratlam 896

5 Ujjain 891

6 Mandsaur 825

7 Shajapur 977
Computation:
Direct Method:

The mean for the data given in Table 1 is computed as under by the direct method :

Sl. Districts in Normal Rainfall

No. Malwa Plateau (In mms)

1 Indore 979

2 Dewas 1083

3 Dhar 833

4 Ratlam 896

5 Ujjain 891

6 Mandsaur 825

7 Shajapur 977

N=7  X  6484

X = X
N

6484
=
7

X = 926.29
Indirect Method:

The mean for the data given in Table 1 is computed as under by the indirect method :

Sl. Districts in Normal Rainfall Indirect Method

No. Malwa Plateau (In mms) (d = X- 800*)

1 Indore 979 170

2 Dewas 1083 283

3 Dhar 833 33

4 Ratlam 896 96

5 Ujjain 891 91

6 Mandsaur 825 25

7 Shajapur 977 177

N=7  d  884

*Where 800 is assumed mean,

D is the deviation from the assumed mean

X =A+ d
N

884
= 800 +
7

= 800 + 126.29

X = 926.29
Computing Mean from Grouped Data:

Direct Method:

We can use the following formula to calculate the mean from grouped data by the direct
method:

X =  fx
N

Where,

X = Mean

f = Frequencies

X = midpoints of class intervals

N = Total number of frequencies

Indirect Method:

We can use the following formula to calculate the mean from grouped data by the indirect
method:

X =A   fd
N

Where,

X = Mean

A = Midpoint of the assumed mean group

f = Frequency

D = Deviation from the assumed mean group (A)

N = Total number of frequencies

Exercise 2: Compute the average wage rate of factory workers using data given in Table 2.

Table 2 : Wage Rate of Factory Workers

Wage Rate (Rs. / day) Number of workers

50 - 70 10
70 - 90 20
90 - 110 25
110 - 130 35
130 - 150 9

Computation:

Direct Method:

The mean for the data given in Table 2 is computed as under by the direct method :

Wage Rate Number of Mid Points fx

(Rs. / day) workers (f)
50 - 70 10 (x)
60 600

70 - 90 20 80 1600

90 - 110 25 100 2500

110 - 130 35 120 4200

130 - 150 9 140 1260

N = 99  fx  10160

X =  fx
N

10160
=
99

X = 102.6
Indirect Method:

The mean for the data given in Table 2 is computed as under by the indirect method:

Wage Rate Number of Mid Points

D = x - 100 fd
(Rs. / day) workers (f) (x)

50 - 70 10 60 -40 -400

70 - 90 20 80 -20 -400

90 - 110 25 100 0 0

110 - 130 35 120 20 700

130 - 150 9 140 40 360

N = 99  fd = 260

X =A   fd
N

260
= 100 +
99

= 100 + 2.6

X = 102.6
 Median

Median is a positional average. It divides the entire range of the series in two equal parts so that
values of half the items are less than it and the values of the other half of the items are more
than it. The Median is expressed using symbol M.

Computing Median for Ungrouped Data:

The following equation is used to compute the median:

N 1
Value of ( ) th item
2

Exercise 3: Calculate median height of mountain peaks in parts of the Himalayas using the
following Data.

8126 m, 8611 m, 7817 m, 8172 m , 8076 m, 8848 m, 8598 m

Computation:

First of all the whole data have been arranged in ascending order.

7817, 8076, 8126, 8172, 8598, 8611, 8848

After that the following formula has been applied to calculate the median value :

N 1
Value of ( ) th item
2

7 1
= ( )
2

8
=( )
2

= 4 th item

Hence,

Median (M) = 8172

Computing Median for Grouped Data:

When the scores are grouped, we can used the following formula to calculate the median :

i N
M= l+ ( c)
f 2

Where,

M = Median for grouped data

l = Lower limit of the median class

i = Interval,

f = Frequency of the median class

N = Total number of frequencies

C = Cumulative frequency of the pre-median class

Exercise 4: Calculate the median for the following Table 3

Table 3

Frequency
Class
(f)

50 - 60 3

60 - 70 7

70 - 80 11

80 - 90 16

90 - 100 8

100 - 110 5
Computation:

The mean for the data given in Table 3 is computed as under:

Frequency Cumulative Calculation of

Class
(f) Frequency (F) Median Class

50 - 60 3 3

60 - 70 7 10
N
70 - 80 11 21 M=
2

80 - 90 50
=
16 37 2
(Median
Group)
= 25
90 - 100 8 45

100 - 110 5 50

N = 50

i N
M=l+ ( c)
f 2

10
= 80 + (25 - 21)
16

5
= 80 +  4
8

5
= 80 +
2

= 80 + 2.5

= 82.5
 Mode

The value that occurs most frequently in a distribution is referred to as mode. Modes can be
unimodal, bimodal, trimodal and multimodal.

Exercise 5: Calculate mode for the following test scores in geography for ten students :

61, 10, 88, 37, 61, 72, 55, 61, 46, 22

Computation:

First of all the whole data have been arranged in ascending order.

10, 22, 37, 46, 55, 61, 61, 61, 72, 88

Since the number 61 occur three times, the mode is therefore 61 and it is unimodal.

Lecture Compiled By

Dr. Krishanu Datta

PGT Geography

Kendriya Vidyalaya Cooch Behar