median
Meaning of median: In statistics, the median is the middle value in an ordered data set, a measure clinicians often favor over the average when data are skewed.
Definition of median
The median is a statistical measure describing the middle value within a set of numbers arranged in order from lowest to highest. When a data set contains an odd number of values, the median is the single value exactly in the middle, and when it contains an even number of values, the median is calculated as the average of the two middle values.
In medical research, the median is often reported alongside or instead of the mean, particularly for measures such as survival time, hospital stay length, or symptom duration, since these kinds of data are frequently skewed by a small number of unusually high or low values. A skewed data set can pull the mean away from what is typical, while the median stays closer to the experience of most individuals in the group.
Reporting a median rather than a mean is one way researchers communicate a more representative picture of a typical outcome.
Used in a sentence
The study reported a median hospital stay of several days for patients undergoing the procedure.
Good to know
A median survival time describes the point at which half of a studied group had a given outcome and half had not, which is not the same as an average and does not predict any individual's own outcome.
Word origin
Where “median” comes from
Formed from Latin medius, meaning middle, the same root that gives medial and medium, all describing a central position.