Mean vs. Median: When to Use?

Question

I know the difference between the **mean** and the **median**. - The **mean** of a set of numbers is the sum of all the numbers divided by the cardinality. - The **median** of a set of numbers is the middle number, when the set is organized in ascending or descending order (and, when the set has an even cardinality, the mean of the middle two numbers). It seems to me that they're often used interchangeably, both to give a sense of what's going on in same data. Do they mean (pun _intended_) different things? When should one be used over the other?

Answer 1

Use the median if you believe outliers may be skewing the data, and especially if you believe the outliers may not be reliable data.