Merits Of Median

(i) It satisfies the first condition laid down in previous pages for an ideal average as it is rigidly defined.           

(ii) It can be easily calculated and it is understood without any difficulty.           

(iii) It is not affected by the values of the extreme items as such is sometimes more representative than arithmetic average. If the incomes of five persons are $ 30, $ 35, $ 40, $ 45 and $ 1000 the median would-be $ 40, whereas the arithmetic average would be $230. Median in such cases is a better average.           

(iv) Even if the value of the extremes is not known median can be calculated if the number of items is known.

(v) It can be located merely by inspection in many cases.           

(vi) It gives best results in a study of those phenomena which are incapable of direct quantitative measurement, for example intelligence. It is impossible to measure intelligence quantitatively but it is possible to arrange a group of persons in ascending or descending order of intelligence and thus to locate a person whose intelligence can be said to be average.