In statistics

Statistics

Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

, the term central tendency relates to the way in which quantitative data is clustered around some value. A measure of central tendency is a way of specifying - central value. In practical statistical analysis, the terms are often used before one has chosen even a preliminary form of analysis: thus an initial objective might be to "choose an appropriate measure of central tendency".

In the simplest cases, the measure of central tendency is an average

Average

In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....

 of a set of measurement

Measurement

Measurement is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the metre, second or degree Celsius...

s, the word average being variously construed as mean, median, or other measure of location, depending on the context.