mean or median

Alain Duchêne · 10-26-2006, 05:18 PM

Hello,

I have a every day practice of reading English medical papers, but my skills in English, as there is here some evidence, are rather poor.
I have some difficulties in distinguishing " mean" and "median", about statistics.
Would you mind helping me ? Il would be very kind of you.
Thank you very much
AD

Jessierugg · 10-27-2006, 03:03 AM

The "mean" of a set of numbers is the average of the numbers.

For example, if the numbers are 6, 72, 34, 16, and 10, the "mean" is:

(6+72+34+16+10)
_______________ = 27.6
5

The "median" is the number in the middle when the numbers are listed from smallest to biggest. For example, list the numbers like this:

6, 10, 16, 34, 74 The median is the number in the middle, so here it is 16.

Half of the numbers in a data set are bigger than the "median" and half are smaller.

I hope that helps!

~ Jessica

10-26-2006, 05:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
Alain Duchêne Brand New Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1 Alain Duchêne is an unknown character at this point	mean or median Hello, I have a every day practice of reading English medical papers, but my skills in English, as there is here some evidence, are rather poor. I have some difficulties in distinguishing " mean" and "median", about statistics. Would you mind helping me ? Il would be very kind of you. Thank you very much AD
(Offline)

10-27-2006, 03:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
Jessierugg Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Massachusetts, usa Posts: 131 Jessierugg is an unknown character at this point	The "mean" of a set of numbers is the average of the numbers. For example, if the numbers are 6, 72, 34, 16, and 10, the "mean" is: (6+72+34+16+10) _______________ = 27.6 5 The "median" is the number in the middle when the numbers are listed from smallest to biggest. For example, list the numbers like this: 6, 10, 16, 34, 74 The median is the number in the middle, so here it is 16. Half of the numbers in a data set are bigger than the "median" and half are smaller. I hope that helps! ~ Jessica
(Offline)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode