The mode is frequently said to be that the value which occurs most often in the data, that is, with the highest frequency. While this statement is quite helpful in interpreting the mode it cannot safely be applied to any distribution, as of the vagaries of sampling. Even fairly large amount drawn form a statistical population with a single well defined mode may exhibit very erratic fluctuations. In this,  if the mode is defined as that exact value in the ungrouped data of each sample which occurs most frequently. Instead it should be thought a value about which the items are most closely concentrated. It is the value that has the greatest frequency density in its immediate neighborhood, for this reason mode is also known as the most typical of fashionable value of a distribution.

Calculation of mode-individual observations

For determining  the mode count the number of times the various values repeat themselves and the value occurring maximum number of times is the modal value the measure it an average to represent a data.

Illustration: Calculate the mode from the following data of  marks obtained by 10 students:

Solution: Calculation of mode
 

As the item 27 occur the maximum number of times i.e. 3 and hence the modal marks are 27.

Illustration: Read the following distribution and find the modal wage and check the value by direct calculation.

Solution: mode lies in the class 125-130.

Mo = L + ?1/?1 + ?2 × i

L = 125, ?1 = (150 – 110) = 40, ?2 = (150 – 120) = 30, I = 5

Mo = 125 + 40/40 + 30 × 5 = 125 + 2.86 = 127.86