- The Median:
Definition: The median of a set of observations is a number such that half of the observations are larger than it and half of the observations are smaller than it.
Method for Determining the Median:
- Order the observations from smallest to largest.
- If the number of observations n is odd, the median, M, is the exact middle number in the list of ordered observations. (It’s location can be found by counting up (or down) (n+1)/2 observations.
- If the number of observations n is even, the median, M, is the mean of the two middle observations in the ordered list. (It’s the average of the n/2 and the n/2+1 observations).