UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

The median is the middle value of an ordered distribution such that half of the observations fall below it and half above it. It is particularly useful for skewed distributions or data with extreme values, because it is less affected by outliers than the mean. For ordinal data, the median is often the most appropriate measure of central tendency. Therefore, the measure that divides the distribution into two equal halves is correctly called the median.

Option A:
The mean is the arithmetic average obtained by summing all scores and dividing by the number of observations. While widely used, it is sensitive to extreme values and does not necessarily separate the distribution into two equal halves. Hence, mean is not the correct measure described in the stem.

Option B:
The mode is the value that occurs most frequently in a distribution and can be used for nominal, ordinal or interval data. A distribution may have multiple modes or none clearly defined, and the mode does not guarantee that 50% of cases lie above and 50% below. Thus, mode is not the best completion.

Option C:
Standard deviation measures the average deviation of scores from the mean and expresses the spread or variability in the data, not its central location. It does not divide the distribution into equal halves and therefore does not fit the description given in the question.

Option D:
The median’s reliance on the positional middle of ordered scores, rather than on mathematical averaging, ensures that it always splits the distribution into two equal parts, which matches the stem exactly.