We commonly use median in statistics in the calculation of mode and standard deviation, Therefore, if you want to calculate mode and standard deviation you should know how to calculate median. Median is the middle number in the sequence of numbers which is used in statistics. It is very easy to find out median of a series or set of numbers. We don’t require any formula for this.
It is one of the popular techniques in summary statistics. It shows the central tendency of the distribution.
Median of a finite set of numbers can be found out by arranging the numbers from lowest values to highest values. Median divides the distribution into two halves, on the left hand side of the median value lie the values less than median and on the right hand side lie the values bigger than the median.
Calculating median for odd number of values:
- Suppose we have a set of numbers as, 4, 52, 64, 32, 56, 33, 78, 100 and 12.
- Arrange these numbers in ascending order as, 4, 12, 32, 33, 52, 56, 64, 78 and 100.
- Then the median of these numbers is the number that lies at the center of this set of numbers i.e. 52 in this case.
- Therefore, 52 is the median in this case.
Calculating median for even number of values:
- Suppose we have a set of numbers as, 25, 53, 3, 65, 78, 99, 12 and 11.
- Arrange these numbers in ascending order as, 3, 11, 12, 25, 53, 65, 78 and 99.
- In this case we don’t find the middle number but a pair of middle numbers.
- Here, pair of middle numbers is 25 and 53.
- Add both the numbers and divide them by 2, i.e. find mean of these numbers
(25 + 53)/2 = 78/2 = 39
- Therefore, median of this set of numbers is 39.
- If both the middle numbers are same, then you need not find mean of the numbers as it clear that, that number itself is the median.
In case of symmetrical distribution of data, the values of mean, median and mode are same. In case of skewed data distribution, they can be different.
Calculating median using Excel sheet:
- Enter the range of numbers in the Excel sheet whose median is to be found out.
- Suppose you want to find out the median of numbers in the cell as,
| A | |
| 1 | 43 |
| 2 | 34 |
| 3 | 56 |
| 4 | 66 |
| 5 | 78 |
- Select the cell and click on the sort tab to sort the numbers in ascending order as,
| A | |
| 1 | 34 |
| 2 | 43 |
| 3 | 56 |
| 4 | 66 |
| 5 | 78 |
| =MEDIAN (A1: A5) |
- Select the cell in which you want your median to be displayed. In that row, type the range of values whose median is to be found out
=MEDIAN (A1: A5)
- You can also opt for an alternative easy way to find out median of the numbers in Excel sheet. Go to the “toolbar” and click on the “Formulas” in Excel sheet, click on “insert function”. Type “median” and press “ok”.
Calculating median online:
To calculate median online, enter the data you have by separating them with commas. Click on the “calculate” button to get the result. When you have a larger set of data, then these online calculators will prove to be more helpful.
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