Page 76 - Sociology and You

46 Unit 1 Sociological Perspectives
Using Basic Statistical Measures
Statistics are methods used for tabulating, analyzing, and presenting quantitative data. Sociologists, like all scientists, use statistical measures. You will encounter certain statistical measures in this textbook and in peri- odicals such as Time, Newsweek, or The Economist. Among the basic statis- tical measures are averages—including modes, means, and medians.
An average is a single number representing the distribution of several figures. For example, suppose the following figures are the salaries of the nine highest-paid major league baseball players:
$3,300,000 (catcher) $4,900,000 (starting pitcher)
$3,600,000 (second base) $5,300,000 (left field)
$3,600,000 (third base) $6,100,000 (right field)
$4,200,000 (center field) $4,300,000 (shortstop) $4,500,000 (first base)
There are three kinds of averages that will make these numerical values more meaningful. Each gives a slightly different picture.
❖ The mode is the number that occurs most frequently. In this case, it is $3,600,000, which occurs twice.
The mode is
appropriate only
when the objective is
to indicate the most
popular number.
Suppose a researcher investigating these
major league baseball
salaries reported the
mode alone. Readers
would be misled, because the mode would give them no hint of the wide range of salaries ($3,300,000 to $6,100,000).
❖ The mean is the measure closest to the
everyday meaning of the term average. It lies somewhere in the middle of a range. The mean of the salary figures above— $4,422,222—is calculated by adding all of the salaries together ($39,800,000) and dividing by the number of salaries (9). The mean, unlike the mode, takes all of the figures into account. It is distorted, however, by the highest figure, $6,100,000. Although one player earns $6,100,000, most players make considerably less—the highest-paid player earns nearly twice as much as the lowest-paid
Skills at a Glance
Skills at a Glance