What are the Merits and Demerits of Median?
Merits:
Following are the main merits of the median:
(i) Simplicity;
It is very easy to calculate and is readily understood.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(ii) Unaffected by Extreme Values:
Median is not affected by the extreme values. It is independent of the range of series.
(iii) Graphic Measurement:
Median can be measured graphically.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(iv) Qualitative Suitability:
Median serves as the most appropriate average to deal with qualitative data.
(v) Certainty:
Median value is always certain and specific value in the series.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(vi) Typical Observations:
Median is often used to convey the typical observation. It is primarily affected by the number of observations rather than their size.
Demerits:
Median suffers from the following limitations.
(i) Lacks Representative ness:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Median does not represent the measure of such series of which different values are wide apart from each other.
(ii) Erratic:
Median is erratic if the number of items is small.
(iii) Incapable of Algebraic Treatment:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Median is incapable of further algebraic treatment.
(iv) Effect of Fluctuations:
Median is very much affected by the sampling fluctuations.