Reporting using the sum or the mean

1. Reporting using the Mean or Sum
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2. Here is an example of the two:
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3. Students Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Student
Average
Mandy 5 6 5 5.3
Karly 1 2 1 1.3
Tanner 4 5 4 4.3
Mckay 3 4 3 3.3
Wanda 1 2 1 1.3
Total Summed Score 15.7
Total
Summed
Scores

4. 4
Students Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Student
Average
Mandy 5 6 5 5.3
Karly 1 2 1 1.3
Tanner 4 5 4 4.3
Mckay 3 4 3 3.3
Wanda 1 2 1 1.3
Total Summed Score 15.7
Students Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Student
Average
Mandy 5 6 5 5.3
Karly 1 2 1 1.3
Tanner 4 5 4 4.3
Mckay 3 4 3 3.3
Wanda 1 2 1 1.3
Total Summed Score 3.1
Total
Summed
Scores
Mean or
Average
Scores

5. Anderson & Bourke (2000) recommend using
mean scores because they -
• simplify the treatment of missing scores
• provide for the comparability between scales
of different lengths
• put the mean score on the same scale as
individual items (e.g., a mean score of 3.8 on a
scale of 1 to 4 – Strongly Disagree to Strongly
Agree) provides an intuitive understanding of
the meaning of the score.
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