Define which records belong to the question
A journal review should specify its intended set: trades entered in a period, trades closed in a period or another declared cohort. Those sets can differ. A trade entered before the window and closed during it can belong to one definition but not the other.
Record the asset and reporting unit as well as the date rule. A Canadian-dollar display should not combine raw outcomes in several currencies without a documented conversion. No particular cohort definition is prescribed here; the requirement is to keep the chosen one explicit.
Keep blank, zero and not applicable as separate states
A blank expense field does not establish that the charge was zero. It can mean missing evidence or an incomplete export. An explicitly supplied zero and a documented not-applicable state should remain distinguishable so another reviewer can understand which rows support a net calculation.
A positive gross result with an unknown expense does not have a verified equal net result. Do not silently fill the blank with zero merely to produce a complete column. Identify which totals can be calculated and which depend on an unresolved input.
Report only the average supported by the teaching rows
Suppose a fictional cohort has three entered records. Two closed rows have gross outcomes +120 and −80 CAD, while the third remains open. The arithmetic mean of the two supplied closed gross outcomes is +20 CAD. If one fee is unknown, a complete net mean is unavailable.
The open row is not a zero-outcome observation. Including it as zero would answer a different question and conceal its unresolved state. The NIST definition of the mean supplies the arithmetic operation; it does not justify the way a trading cohort was selected.
| Teaching statistic | Included information | Supported result |
|---|---|---|
| Closed gross mean | (+120 − 80) / 2 | +20 CAD |
| Complete closed net mean | One fee missing | Unknown |
| Entire entered cohort result | One position open | Incomplete |
Show how a later fee record changes the available statistic
If later evidence supplies expenses of 10 and 5 CAD for the two fictional closed rows, the net outcomes become +110 and −85. Their closed-row mean is then +12.50 CAD. Identify the added fee evidence and its source rather than describing the earlier unknown net mean as an error that was always calculable. The third open record still remains outside this closed-result statistic; receiving fee data has not closed that position or completed the entire entered cohort.
Name the selection and the unresolved remainder
A useful review states the number entered, number closed, number still open and number with complete expense evidence. Keep the original rows so the result can be recalculated after the missing record arrives. A later revision should identify which new evidence changed the result.
This is a data-completeness audit, not a verified backtest or a forecast of the next trade. A small selected mean cannot establish profitability, suitable risk or a tax result. All amounts in the worked example are fictional.
The optional link below leads to this site's separate crypto signals and Telegram updates offer. The record method is usable without that offer. It does not independently verify the offer, establish country eligibility or turn the teaching example into an actual transaction.
Primary sources and scope
- NIST/SEMATECH: Measures of Location
Arithmetic mean uses the sum divided by the count of observations. The worked cases here are invented, not evidence of performance. Checked 2026-10-21.