In: Statistics and Probability
Mean and Median are two representative measures for identifying central location. What are the pros and cons of using these two measures? Which one is more vulnerable to outliers and why? (Business & Statistics Applications Course)
Solution:-
Mean:-
Pros |
Cons |
· The mean uses every value in the data and hence is a good representative of the data. · Most popular measure in
business, · Yields one distinct answer. · Useful for comparing sets of data. |
· It’s sensitive to the most extreme values; hence yields inflated or deflated result when extreme values (outliers) or skewed data are present. |
Median:-
Pros |
Cons |
· As the median is the middle number in a sorted, ascending or descending, list of numbers hence outliers (extreme values) or skewed data do not affect the median as strongly as they affect the mean. · Yields one distinct answer. · Useful for comparing sets of data. |
· It does not take into account the precise value of each observation and hence does not use all information available in the data. Unlike mean, median is not amenable to further mathematical calculation and hence is not used in many statistical tests. |
Mean is more Vulnerable to outlier because the mean has a tendency to be pulled toward extreme values as it uses every value in the data.