Average and Types of Averages

Average

“A single value which can represent the whole set of data is called an average”. If the average tends to lie or indicate the center of the distribution it is called the measure of central tendency, or sometimes they locate the general position of the data so they are also called the measure of location.

 

Desirable Qualities of a Good Average

An average which possesses all or most of the following qualities (characteristics) is considered a good average:
 
(1) It should be easy to calculate and simple to understand.

(2) It should be clearly defined by a mathematical formula.

(3) It should not be affected by extreme values.

(4) It should be based on all the observations.

(5) It should be capable of further mathematical treatment.

(6) It should have sample stability.

 

Types of Averages

Mathematical averages are:

(1) Arithmetic Mean
(2) Geometric Mean
(3) Harmonic Mean
(4) Median
(5) Mode