What is the term for the value that occurs most frequently in a data set?

The term for the value that occurs most frequently in a data set is called the mode. The mode identifies the value that appears the highest number of times, which is particularly useful in understanding the most common item or category within a dataset. This concept is essential in statistics because it provides insights into the distribution of data and highlights trends that might be overlooked when focusing solely on averages or midpoints.

In contrast, the median represents the middle value in a sorted dataset, splitting it into two equal halves, while the mean is the average value calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of observations. The range, on the other hand, measures the difference between the maximum and minimum values in a dataset. Each of these measures serves a unique purpose in statistical analysis, but only the mode specifically focuses on frequency of occurrence.