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Statistics vocabulary · Descriptive Statistics

Weighted average

Meaning in statistics, with examples

nounCommon term

In statistics, weighted average means: An average in which some values count more than others: each value is multiplied by a weight, the results are added, and the total is divided by the sum of the weights.

In Turkish: ağırlıklı ortalama

How it is used

Used for grade point averages, price indices, combining results from groups of different sizes and survey weighting. 'Weighted mean' is the more technical name. In surveys, weights correct for groups that were over- or under-represented in the sample.

Example sentences

  1. The final grade is a weighted average: the exam counts for 60% and the project for 40%.

  2. Don't just average the branch means; take a weighted average by number of customers.

Common collocations

  • calculate a weighted average
  • weighted mean
  • survey weights
  • weight by population
  • meanThe sum of all the values divided by the number of values; the usual 'average' that describes the centre of a set of numbers.
  • stratified samplingA sampling method in which the population is first divided into subgroups (strata), such as regions or age groups, and a random sample is then taken from each one.
  • nonresponse biasBias that arises when the people who do not take part in a survey differ in important ways from those who do, so the results misrepresent the population.
  • summary statisticsA small set of numbers that describe a data set at a glance, typically the number of observations, the mean, standard deviation, median, minimum and maximum.

More terms: Descriptive Statistics

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