Definition Median
The value which lies exactly in the middle of a data set is the median. One half of the individual data is always lower than the median, and the other half is always higher than the median. In the case of an even number of individual data, the median equals the average of the sum of the two values in the center of the data set.
Examples: in the set (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12) the median is 5. In the set (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9) the median is 3.5 (3 and 4 are closest to the middle and their average is taken).
Please note that the definitions in our statistics encyclopedia are simplified explanations of terms. Our goal is to make the definitions accessible for a broad audience; thus it is possible that some definitions do not adhere entirely to scientific standards.