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The method’s robustness is contrasted with averaging via outlier sensitivity, supported by an illustrative multi-member example.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ranking-by-medians-university-of-wollongong-phd-scholarship-applications/594634/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ranking-by-medians-university-of-wollongong-phd-scholarship-applications/594634.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Ben ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-25","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the core idea of “ranking by medians”?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Each committee member independently ranks all applications, then an assistant calculates the median rank for each applicant and orders applicants by those medians.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Why does independent ranking help the committee?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Independent rankings reduce the influence of dominant personalities and ensure every member’s assessment contributes, including when someone is absent from the meeting.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why prefer median rank instead of averaging scores?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Averages can be skewed by outliers, while the median mutes their effect; this makes the result more robust against extreme scores used strategically or unintentionally.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},594634,1792969902,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":22,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":111},2336478951081,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nOPINION  \nRanking by medians  \nBrian Martin  \nUniversity of Wollongong  \nWhen a committee needs to rank applications, it is worthwhile having committee members independently rank the applications and then starting the committee’s discussion with the medians of the ranks.  \nIt was time to rank PhD scholarship applications in the faculty. I joined the large committee, with one representative from each department. The meeting was rancorous and lasted so long it had to be reconvened at a later time to finish the ranking.  \nThe meeting was difficult for several reasons. Each committee member came to the meeting with a preferred order in mind, but no one knew where everyone else stood. Some members were playing favourites, presenting arguments for their desired applicants: they would emphasise some positive attribute of an applicant and ignore negatives that may have influenced others, with the positives and negatives being raised or downplayed in a selective fashion. Finally, some members were more forceful than others. The meeting eventually ended, but left a bitter taste for many who participated.  \nA few years later, I became chair of the committee and tried a new system that overcame many of the previous problems. The meetings for ranking scholarships and grant applications were shorter and less contentious. I call the method used‘ranking by medians’. It is currently used at the University of Wollongong for ranking scholarshipsat the university level.  \nHow it works  \nBefore the meeting, each committee member independently rates each application according to selection criteria, for example with a score between 0 and 100.The key, though, is not the score but the ranking of 62 Ranking by medians Brian Martin  \napplications. If there are 20 applications, each committee members ranks them 1 to 20.Alternatively, ranks can be readily derived from the scores.  \nThe scores and ranks are given to an assistant who prepares a table listing each applicant’s rank as assessed by each committee member. Then the median rank for each application is calculated.The median is just the middle of a group of numbers. For example,if the five ranks are 1,1,2,5 and 11, the median is 2. (The average in this case is 4 .) With a small committee, it’s easy to calculate the median by eye; with a large committee,a spreadsheet function can be used.  \nCommittee members then attend a meeting, and the table of ranks is given to each member and/or projected on a screen, with applicants ordered in terms of the median ranks for their applications. Then the committee members can discuss whether to use the median ranks asthe basis for awarding scholarships (or whatever), or to change the order.  \nIn my experience, this method makes decision-making much easier. There is seldom disagreement about the upper or lower ranked applications, so most discussion isabout those at the boundary.  \nWhy it works  \nIndependent ranking is a crucial part of this method. Independent rankings reduce the influence of dominant personalities. Each member’s assessment is included, regardless of how forceful or retiring they are. Indeed, a member can be absent from the meeting yet still have  \nvol. 56, no. 2, 2014  \nA U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W  \nnearly as much influence on the outcome as others. Independent assessments are vital in taking advantage of what has been called the‘wisdom of crowds’(Surowiecki, 2004) . Individuals may vary greatly in their assessments but when combined the result can be surprisingly accurate. Indeed, a large diverse committee with less expertise is likely to perform better than a small one with more expertise (Page, 2007) .  \nWhy use the median rank, rather than the average score? The trouble with averages is that they can be easily skewed by outliers. A committee member can manipulate the outcome, consciously or unconsciously, by awarding an extremely high score to a favoured","cbCaieN5OkeY5muf","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaieN5OkeY5muf","pdf",122517,"English","# Ranking by medians\n## How it works\n## Why it works\n## Why use the median rank, rather than the average score\n## An example","[{\"question\":\"What is the core idea of “ranking by medians”?\",\"answer\":\"Each committee member independently ranks all applications, then an assistant calculates the median rank for each applicant and orders applicants by those medians.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does independent ranking help the committee?\",\"answer\":\"Independent rankings reduce the influence of dominant personalities and ensure every member’s assessment contributes, including when someone is absent from the meeting.\"},{\"question\":\"Why prefer median rank instead of averaging scores?\",\"answer\":\"Averages can be skewed by outliers, while the median mutes their effect; this makes the result more robust against extreme scores used strategically or unintentionally.\"}]","Ranking by medians - University of Wollongong PhD scholarship applications | PDF",1792079533]