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Measures of Central Tendency

One of the most common quantities used to summarize a set of data is its center. The center is a single value, chosen in such a way that it gives a reasonable approximation of normality.

There are many ways to approximate the center of a set of data. One of the most familiar and useful measures of center is the mean, however, using only the mean to approximate normality can often be misleading. To obtain a better understanding of what is considered normal, other measures of central tendency such as the median, the trimmed mean, and the trimean may be utilized in addition to the mean.