DQ1
Identify the three measures of central tendency. How do you know which measure of central
tendency is appropriate? How are the measures of central tendency found using SPSS? During an
experiment, why is it important for a researcher to find the central tendency of a probability
distribution?
Central tendency is a statistical measure that identifies a single measure as representative of an
entire distribution. (Gravetter et al, 2021). It has three principal measures, which are mean,
median, and mode. Each measure describes a distinct indication of the central value in the
distribution. (Gravetter et al, 2021). Finding the appropriate measure of the central tendency
depends on the type of data in possession and what the researcher wants to show from that data.
Knowing if the variable is nominal, ordinal, symmetrical, or skewed allows the researcher to
determine the appropriate measure to use. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
is a computer program that executes statistical calculations. Finding these measures using SPSS
obeys some rules. To get started, open a window, and follow these steps: Go to the Statistics
menu, click on the Analyze submenu, then the Descriptive statistics submenu, and the
Frequencies option. Bring up all measures and check these boxes. After that, click on Continue
and then on ok. (Gravetter et al, 2021). Measures of central tendency are helpful in statistics.
The researcher should find the central tendency of a probability distribution as it allows him to
arrange the data in increasing order from smallest to largest and determine the value that
represents the entire distribution.
Gravetter, F. J., Wallnau, L. B., Forzano, L. B., & Witnauer, J. E. (2021). Essentials of statistics
for the behavioral sciences (10th ed.). Cengage. ISBN-13: 9780357035528
Identify the three measures of central tendency. How do you know which measure of central
tendency is appropriate? How are the measures of central tendency found using SPSS? During an
experiment, why is it important for a researcher to find the central tendency of a probability
distribution?
Central tendency is a statistical measure that identifies a single measure as representative of an
entire distribution. (Gravetter et al, 2021). It has three principal measures, which are mean,
median, and mode. Each measure describes a distinct indication of the central value in the
distribution. (Gravetter et al, 2021). Finding the appropriate measure of the central tendency
depends on the type of data in possession and what the researcher wants to show from that data.
Knowing if the variable is nominal, ordinal, symmetrical, or skewed allows the researcher to
determine the appropriate measure to use. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
is a computer program that executes statistical calculations. Finding these measures using SPSS
obeys some rules. To get started, open a window, and follow these steps: Go to the Statistics
menu, click on the Analyze submenu, then the Descriptive statistics submenu, and the
Frequencies option. Bring up all measures and check these boxes. After that, click on Continue
and then on ok. (Gravetter et al, 2021). Measures of central tendency are helpful in statistics.
The researcher should find the central tendency of a probability distribution as it allows him to
arrange the data in increasing order from smallest to largest and determine the value that
represents the entire distribution.
Gravetter, F. J., Wallnau, L. B., Forzano, L. B., & Witnauer, J. E. (2021). Essentials of statistics
for the behavioral sciences (10th ed.). Cengage. ISBN-13: 9780357035528
