Nursing Professional Development Certification (NPD-BC) Practice Exam

If data analysis indicates no outliers, which statistic is most appropriate to report?

1. Median

2. Mean

3. Mode

4. Range

The correct answer is: Mean

In the scenario where data analysis indicates no outliers, the mean is considered the most appropriate statistic to report. This is because the mean provides a measure of central tendency that takes into account all the values in the dataset, making it sensitive to the magnitude of each data point. When there are no outliers present, the mean reflects an accurate and representative average of the data. In contrast, the median, while also a measure of central tendency, does not account for the actual values of the data, only their order. As a result, it may not fully represent the dataset's characteristics when outliers are absent. The mode indicates the most frequently occurring value in the dataset and might not give a comprehensive view of the data when more complex distributions are present. The range represents the difference between the maximum and minimum values in the dataset but does not provide insights into the average of the dataset's values. Therefore, when there are no outliers, using the mean is advantageous as it utilizes all data points, providing a clearer picture of the dataset's overall trend.