This is a simplified version of our descriptive statistics tool which calculates just the sample mean. It is intended for students and others who are looking for just this statistic.
The sample mean is a common statistic which is calculated as the sum of the observations divided by the number of observations in the sample. This is also commonly referred to as the average of a set of observations.
In statistical terms, the sample mean can be viewed as an estimator of the overall population mean of the population from which it was drawn. It is one of the most commonly used measures of the location (aka the center) of a statistical distribution. It should be noted that the sample mean is not necessarily regarded as a robust statistic. The value of a sample mean is highly sensitive to outliers, extreme values of the distribution which can distort the average. This is especially common if the underlying distribution is not normal, such as an exponential or power-law distribution. Along the same lines, the mean is not necessarily representative of measurements of quality and customer satisfaction. For example, while a regression model might show that ice cream is best when stored in a freezer kept at an average of 25 degrees, common sense would indicate not to expect a good result if we achieved that average by spending half our time at 50 degrees and the balance at zero degrees. We would have a melted mess! The same challenge exists in financial and risk management applications: a borrower's average balance is less important than the chance they will out of money on the specific day we need payment!
This tool is developed so you can save your data and use it in our other calculators. Simply hit "save data" and enter a name for this data set. It will be added to the menu shown alongside (or below) the calculators. When you open another page on our site, you will see a list of saved datasets. Simply click on that item and it will pre-populate the calculator box.
