We are asked to choose which measure of central tendency is most appropriate for qualitative data. Qualitative data describes a quality or category and cannot be compared or measured. Let's take a look at some examples of qualitative data.
Favorite TV series
Football uniform numbers
Hair color
Let's now consider the measures of central tendency.
To find the mean of data, the data values must be numerical so that we can calculate the sum of the values. Therefore, the mean is not appropriate for qualitative data.
Measure
Definition
Appropriate For Qualitative Data?
Mean
The sum of data values divided by the total number of data values
*
Median
The middle value in an ordered data set
?
Mode
The data item that occurs the most times
?
The median is the middle value when the data values are arranged in order. Recall that qualitative data cannot be compared. Therefore, we cannot place them in order and calculate the median.
Measure
Definition
Appropriate For Qualitative Data?
Mean
The sum of the data values divided by the total number of data values
*
Median
The middle value in an ordered data set
*
Mode
The data item that occurs the most times
?
The mode is used to choose the most popular value in a data set. To do so, we only count the number of occurrences of each value in the data set. Since it is possible to count the number of responses for qualitative data, the mode is the most appropriate measure of central tendency.
Measure
Definition
Appropriate For Qualitative Data?
Mean
The sum of the data values divided by the total number of data values
