Calculating the mean and
median
Mean
The sample mean is the sum of
all the observations divided by the number of observations:
∑Xi/n
∑Xi is the
same as X1 + X2 + X3 + … + Xn
Example 1:
What is the average waiting
time for a bus? Randomly sample 12
different days. The data are:
6 minutes
8 minutes
23 minutes
6 minutes
14 minutes
17 minutes
10 minutes
26 minutes
20 minutes
5 minutes
5 minutes
The sample mean is:
(10 + 6 + 8 + 23 + 6 + 14 +
17 + 10 + 26 + 20 + 5 + 5) / 12
= 150 / 12
= 12.5 minutes This is the sample mean.
Calculating the Mean with Excel
Suppose you want
to calculate the mean, and you entered the data in an Excel spreadsheet as
follows:
10 in cell C1
6 in cell C2
8 in cell C3
23 in cell C4
6 in cell C5
14 in cell C6
17 in cell C7
10 in cell C8
26 in cell C9
20 in cell C10
5 in cell C11
5 in cell C12
To calculate the
average waiting time, go to the Function Wizard. The function you are
going to use is in the category of STATISTICAL and is the function AVERAGE.
You will have to enter the data range (the data is in C1:C12)
NUMBER 1:
C1:C12
For the above
problem, the average wait is 12.5 minutes.
Optional for Today: To calculate the standard deviation, go to the
Function Wizard. The function you are going to use is in the function category
of STATISTICAL and is STDEV. Again, you have to enter the data range.
NUMBER 1:
C1:C12
The answer I got
for the above data set is 7.39 minutes.
Median
To calculate the median,
you will first have to order the data from lowest to highest. The median is the
number exactly in the middle. If the
sample size, n, is even, then the median is the average of the two middle
numbers.
Definition: The median is that number for which half the
data is larger than it, and half the data is smaller. It is also called the 50th
percentile.
Using the bus
waiting times dataset, let’s put them in order:
|
5 |
|
5 |
|
6 |
|
6 |
|
8 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
14 |
|
17 |
|
20 |
|
23 |
|
26 |
Since there is an even number of observations (12), the median is exactly in between the 6th and 7th ordered numbers, or, the average of 10 and 10.
The median is 10.0
minutes. Half of the time, the sample
wait was more than 10 minutes, and half of the time it was less.
In Excel, you do not have to
order the data yourself.
To calculate the
median waiting time, go to the Function Wizard. The function you are
going to use is in the category of STATISTICAL and is the function
MEDIAN. You will have to enter the data range (C1:C12):
NUMBER 1:
C1:C12
The median is 10.0
minutes.
Example 2:
A company is studying absenteeism among its
employees in one particular plant. They
collect the following data:
Absences over a one month period for 15 employees:
6
5
1
1
1
3
4
2
2
2
0
0
1
1
1
We will calculate the mean and the median for this
dataset, first by hand, and then using Excel.
Mean = (6 + 5 + … + 1) / 15 = 30 / 15 = 2.0 days
The average employee in this group was absent 2 days
during this one-month period.
To calculate the median, first order the data:
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
4
5
6
Since the number of observations, n=15, is odd, the median is exactly at the center, at the 8th ordered observation. The median is 1 day.
In Excel,
Enter the 15 data items into a spreadsheet at, say, D3 through D17. Using the function wizard, choose AVERAGE from the STATISTICAL category and enter the range, D3:D17. The average is 2.0. Make sure to format the cell where you place the mean, so that it can take decimal places. Most problems need 2 decimal places.
Median: Use the function wizard to
choose MEDIAN from the STATISTICAL category and enter the range D3:D17. The median is 1.0 day.