How do outliers affect the median in a dataset?

How do outliers affect the median in a dataset?

Outliers can significantly impact the median, but not as much as they do the mean. The median is the middle value, so it remains stable unless the outliers are extreme enough to change the order of the data.

Can you give me an example of this?

Sure! Consider the dataset: [1, 2, 3, 4, 100]. The median is 3. If we remove the outlier (100), the new median is 2.5, showing how the outlier influenced the median.

What about the mean? How does it change?

In the same dataset [1, 2, 3, 4, 100], the mean is 22. The outlier (100) skews the mean significantly. Without it, the mean drops to 2.5, illustrating a much larger impact compared to the median.

Are there any methods to handle outliers?

Yes, common methods include removing outliers, transforming data, or using robust statistical measures that are less affected by outliers.