Median: Median may be defined as the size (actual or estimated) to that item which falls in the middle of a series arranged either in the ascending order or the descending order of their magnitude. It lies in the centre of a series and divides the series into two equal parts. Median is also known as an average of position.
Merits of Median:
1. It is simple to understand and easy to calculate, particularly is individual and discrete series.
2. It is not affected by the extreme items in the series.
3. It can be determined graphically.
4. For open-ended classes, median can be calculated.
5. It can be located by inspection, after arranging the data in order of magnitude.
Demerits of Median:
1. It does not consider all variables because it is a positional average.
2. The value of median is affected more by sampling fluctuations
3. It is not capable of further algebraic treatment. Like mean, combined median cannot be calculated.
4. It cannot be computed precisely when it lies between two items.