Within Python, the programming language, libraries can be used to extend the functionality of code. One popular library is Pandas, stylized as Pandas. This library allows data scientists to manipulate and transform data in a variety of ways, but certain functions can be used to filter and sort data as well.
The MEDIAN function in pandas is an example of a function that does just that. Using the MEDIAN function in pandas, you’re able to call out the median number in a series or dataframe. A dataframe is like a spreadsheet within Python that contains an X-axis and a Y-axis.
Data from this table can be difficult to sort by sight, particularly when working with a large volume of data. Sorting via the MEDIAN function helps data scientists quickly ascertain the median number from a large group of number data.
How Can the MEDIAN Function Be Used?
You can use the MEDIAN function for a variety of things. For instance, if you were concerned about anomalies in your data, you could use the MEDIAN function to establish the median. This result will be most likely to represent a consistent trend among all the number data in a series or dataframe. With the median established in a dataset, you can establish thresholds to more easily identify anomalies in the future.
You can also use the MEDIAN function to determine the median cost of things like homes. A Realtor could work with a data scientist to establish the median home price in a particular area when working with tabular data. Realtors often gather data from their own internal sales as well as figures reported to national associations and public information provided to local governments.
This data could be imported from Excel or another spreadsheet program. Traditionally, the Realtor would need to go through each line by hand to determine the median value within the data, but the MEDIAN function can return this value instantly. Armed with this information, the Realtor can more accurately represent properties and guide buyers and sellers to the right opportunities.
Read a similar article about Excel functions in Python here at this page.