Measures of central tendency are tools used in biostatistics to identify the average or center of a dataset. They offer a single representative value for understanding and summarizing data distribution.
The mean is one such measure, calculated by totaling all values in a dataset and dividing by the number of values. For instance, the mean blood pressure reading (120, 130, 140, 150) would be 135. However, the mean can be affected by extreme values or outliers.
The median, another measure, represents the middle value in an ordered dataset. It's less influenced by extreme values, making it a valuable measure for skewed data. For example, the median cholesterol level (150, 160, 170, 180, 190) would be 170.
The mode, which denotes the most frequently appearing value in a dataset, is beneficial for categorical or discrete data. In a dataset of the number of cigarettes smoked per day (10, 15, 20, 20, 25), the mode would be 20. Lastly, the midrange is the central value between the maximum and minimum values of a dataset, calculated by averaging the highest and lowest values. If the dataset of the heights in centimeters of students in a class (122, 130, 116, 118, 110, 135, 145, and 123), the midrange height would be 127.5 cm.
Measures of central tendency play a crucial role in biostatistics. They allow us to identify the typical or central value of a dataset, thereby aiding in summarizing and analyzing data effectively.
