Unless your assignment clearly specifies which average value to calculate (and/or report), the value you report will depend on the type of data you have. The table below presents three key average values, the mode, the median and the mean.
| Mode | The most commonly occurring category or number. A good choice for Nominal data | |||
Example of the mode by Maths is Fun. How to calculate the mode using Excel. | ||||
| Median | The midpoint of ordered data. A good choice for ordinal data, or Interval or Ratio data that is skewed or an unknown shape. | |||
Example of a median value by Maths is Fun. How to calculate the median using Excel. | ||||
| Mean | The arithmetic mean (or average) of numbered data. A good choice for normally distributed Interval or Ratio data. | |||
Example of a mean value by Maths is Fun. How to calculate the mean using Excel. | ||||
- A two page document from the Mathcentre with examples of how to perform the average value calculations by hand with additional exercises.
- Practical examples and illustrations of average values by Laerd statistics.