Mean, Geometric

The geometric mean is a measure of central tendency, and like all measures of central tendency, it is used to identify a single numerical value that is most “typical” or representative of a data set. The geometric mean is not to be confused with the much more prevalent arithmetic mean as they answer distinctly different questions about a data set. The arithmetic mean of a data set answers the question, “with what single number could each value in the data set be replaced without changing the sum?” However, the geometric mean answers the question, “with what single number could each value in the data set be replaced without changing the product?” Although it is of very limited use as a descriptive statistic, the geometric mean ...