6.1.1 Averages or Measures of Central Tendency or Measures of Location

6.1.1 Averages or Measures of Central Tendency or Measures of Location

According to Professor Bowley, averages are “statistical constants which enable us to comprehend in a single effort the significance of the whole”. They give us an idea about the concentration of the values in the central part of the distribution. Plainly speaking, an average of a statistical series is the value of the variable which is representative of the entire distribution. The following are the five measures of central tendency that are in common use:

i) Arithmetic Mean or simply Mean Iii) Median,

ii) Mode (iv) Geometric Mean, and Harmonic Mean

Last modified: Thursday, 10 November 2011, 7:48 AM