What is the purpose of calculating the mean in statistical analysis?

Calculating the mean serves the purpose of summarizing the overall average of the data. The mean is determined by adding all the values in a dataset and dividing by the number of values, providing a single value that represents the central point of the data. This average helps to give a quick sense of the data's overall level and is particularly useful when comparing different datasets or understanding trends.

The mean is a measure of central tendency, thus highlighting how the scores cluster around a particular value rather than focusing on extremes or frequency of specific scores. While other options address different aspects of data analysis, they do not capture the specific role of the mean in summarizing the data comprehensively.