What method involves calculating a moving average using a central figure?

The method that involves calculating a moving average using a central figure is indeed centring. This approach takes a series of data points and computes the moving average around a central figure, which helps to smooth out fluctuations and identify trends more effectively. Centrally averaging helps mitigate the effects of randomness in data by placing equal weight on data points around the central figure, which is particularly useful for time series data.

In contrast, the other options refer to different methods of data analysis. The moving average method generally involves averaging a set number of data points over a specified period, without necessarily centring on a figure. The weighted average method assigns different weights to data points, often giving more importance to recent observations, and exponential smoothing applies weights that decrease exponentially for past observations. Each of these methods serves its unique purpose in data analysis, but the centring method is distinctive in its focus on central figures for moving averages.