What is median? Give its merits and demerits.

Median : It is that value of the variable which divides the group into two equal parts, one part comprising all values greater and other values less than the median. In symbols,

M = Median.

N = Number.

Merits

1. Median is definite.

2. It is easy to calculate and understand median.

3. It can also be determined graphically.

4. It is not affected by extreme values.

5. It can be calculated in the absence of any one of the items.

6. It is helpful in qualitative facts such as ability, stability, etc.

7. It is useful in measuring dispersion.

Demerits

1. In it all the items of a series are not given equal importance.

2. If the number of items are even, the correct value of median cannot be calculated.

3. It is affected by fluctuations of sampling.

4. It cannot be given further algebraic treatment.

5. Data needs to be arranged in ascending or descending order.