Well now, if the results are really normally distributed (or distributed otherwise but symmetrically), what is the difference between the mean and the median? Nothing.
If you are constructing confidence intervals or testing hypothesis, you may prefer techniques designed for means, as estimators of means are typically more efficient than are estimators of medians. -----Original Message----- The reply from > her supervisor was "if the results are normally distributed then use > the mean otherwise use the median". I am sure this is sage advice, but > why? Of course, there is no rule that says you can't report both a mean and a median. . . ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: . http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . =================================================================
