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Each entry in the table contains the frequency or count of the occurrences of values within a particular group or interval, and in this way, the table summarizes the distribution of values in the sample. This is an example of a univariate (=single variable) frequency table. The frequency of each response to a survey question is depicted.
As a median is based on the middle data in a set, it is not necessary to know the value of extreme results in order to calculate it. For example, in a psychology test investigating the time needed to solve a problem, if a small number of people failed to solve the problem at all in the given time a median can still be calculated. [6]
Another method of grouping the data is to use some qualitative characteristics instead of numerical intervals. For example, suppose in the above example, there are three types of students: 1) Below normal, if the response time is 5 to 14 seconds, 2) normal if it is between 15 and 24 seconds, and 3) above normal if it is 25 seconds or more, then the grouped data looks like:
Splitting the observations either side of the median gives two groups of four observations. The median of the first group is the lower or first quartile, and is equal to (0 + 1)/2 = 0.5. The median of the second group is the upper or third quartile, and is equal to (27 + 61)/2 = 44. The smallest and largest observations are 0 and 63.
The following may be applied to one-dimensional data. Depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate to transform the data before calculating a central tendency. Examples are squaring the values or taking logarithms. Whether a transformation is appropriate and what it should be, depend heavily on the data being analyzed.
The simplest case to consider is how well the sample median estimates the population median. As an example, consider a random sample of size 6. In that case, the sample median is usually defined as the midpoint of the interval delimited by the 3rd and 4th order statistics.
The lower chart shows the same elements with weights as indicated by the width of the boxes. The weighted median is shown in red and is different than the ordinary median. In statistics, a weighted median of a sample is the 50% weighted percentile. [1] [2] [3] It was first proposed by F. Y. Edgeworth in 1888.
In general, there is no single formula to find the median for a binomial distribution, and it may even be non-unique. However, several special results have been established: If np is an integer, then the mean, median, and mode coincide and equal np. [10] [11]