How to Find the Median of a Set of Numbers

Statistical measures of data provide valuable information about many factors of daily life. The mean, median and mode of a distribution of data points that represent some property of interest define the shape of the distribution curve. For distributions that have a few extremely low or high values the median value can be more informative as it is less effected by these extreme points.

Instructions

1. Select a distribution of results from among the properties known about this distribution. Find out how skewed the distribution is by examining its median value. The median value is the value that is exactly in the middle of the points if you were to line up the values in order of increasing value.

2. Count the number of values that are in the distribution. Divide the total number by two, rounding to the higher integer and then count from the lowest number through the series. If the total number of data points is even, then the median value will be the average between the value of the data point found by counting through the series and the value of the next data point. If the number of data points in the series is odd, then the median value is the value of the data point exactly in the middle of the progression.

3. Plot the values of the data points and then see where the median value lies on the plot. You will see that this value can be more definitive of the shape of the population distribution than is the mean or the mode.