You can use median as a measure of central tendency for what scales?

You can use median as a measure of central tendency for what scales?

• A. All scales
• B. Ratio and Interval
• C. Nominal
• D. Interval only

Answer: (B)

Median is a measure of central tendency that relies on ordering the data. You can find the middle value only when the data come in a meaningful order. Interval and ratio scales provide that ordered, numeric structure, so you can line up all values from smallest to largest and pick the central one. Nominal data lack inherent order, so a middle value isn’t meaningful, which is why the median doesn’t apply there. Interval and ratio scales thus support using the median as a measure of central tendency. (Note: ordinal data are also orderable, but that option isn’t listed here.)

Median is a measure of central tendency that relies on ordering the data. You can find the middle value only when the data come in a meaningful order. Interval and ratio scales provide that ordered, numeric structure, so you can line up all values from smallest to largest and pick the central one. Nominal data lack inherent order, so a middle value isn’t meaningful, which is why the median doesn’t apply there. Interval and ratio scales thus support using the median as a measure of central tendency. (Note: ordinal data are also orderable, but that option isn’t listed here.)