Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA

PRESENTATION

CHAPTER 2

2. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AND PRESNTATION

Having collected and edited data, the next important step is to organize it.
That is to present it in a readily comprehensible condensed form that aids in
order to draw inferences from it. It is also necessary that the like be
separated from the unlike ones.

The presentation of data is broadly classified in to the following two

categories:

 Tabular presentation
 Diagrammatic and Graphic presentation.

The process of arranging data in to classes or categories according to

similarities technically is called classification.

Classification is a preliminary and it prepares the ground for proper

presentation of data.

Definitions:

 Raw data: recorded information in its original collected form,

whether it is counts or measurements, is referred to as raw data.
 Frequency: is the number of values in a specific class of the
distribution.

 Frequency distribution: is the organization of raw data in table form

using classes and frequencies.

There are three basic types of frequency distributions

 Categorical frequency distribution

 Ungrouped frequency distribution

 Grouped frequency distribution

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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There are specific procedures for constructing each type.

1) Categorical frequency Distribution:

Used for data that can be place in specific categories such as nominal, or
ordinal. e.g. marital status.

Example: a social worker collected the following data on marital status for 25
persons.(M=married, S=single, W=widowed, D=divorced)

M S D W D

S S M M W

W D S M M

W D D S S

S W W D D

Solution:

Since the data are categorical, discrete classes can be used. There are four types
of marital status M, S, D, and W. These types will be used as class for the
distribution. We follow procedure to construct the frequency distribution.

Step 1: Make a table as shown.

Class Tally Frequency Percent

(1) (2) (3) (4)

D
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W
Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
PRESENTATION

Step 2: Tally the data and place the result in column (2).

Step 3: Count the tally and place the result in column (3).

Step 4: Find the percentages of values in each class by using;

Where f= frequency of the class, n=total number of value.

Percentages are not normally a part of frequency distribution but they can be
added since they are used in certain types diagrammatic such as pie charts.

Step 5: Find the total for column (3) and (4).

Combing all the steps one can construct the following frequency distribution.

Class Tally Frequency Percent

(1) (2) (3) (4)

M //// 5 20

S //// // 7 28

D //// // 7 28 2) U
n
W //// / 6 24
g
rouped frequency Distribution:

-Is a table of all the potential raw score values that could possible occur in
the data along with the number of times each actually occurred.

-Is often constructed for small set or data on discrete variable.

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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Constructing ungrouped frequency distribution:

 First find the smallest and largest raw score in the collected data.
 Arrange the data in order of magnitude and count the frequency.

 To facilitate counting one may include a column of tallies.

Example:

The following data represent the mark of 20 students.

80 76 90 85 80
70 60 62 70 85
65 60 63 74 75
76 70 70 80 85

Construct a frequency distribution, which is ungrouped.

Solution:

Step 1: Find the range, Range=Max-Min=90-60=30.

Step 2: Make a table as shown
Step 3: Tally the data.
Step 4: Compute the frequency.
Mark Tally Frequency
60 // 2
62 / 1
63 / 1
65 / 1
70 //// 4
74 / 1

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75 // 2
76 / 1
80 /// 3
85 /// 3
90 / 1

Each individual value is presented separately, that is why it is named

ungrouped frequency distribution.

3) Grouped frequency Distribution:

-When the range of the data is large, the data must be grouped in to classes that
are more than one unit in width.

Definitions:

 Grouped Frequency Distribution: a frequency distribution when

several numbers are grouped in one class.
 Class limits: Separates one class in a grouped frequency distribution
from another. The limits could actually appear in the data and have gaps
between the upper limits of one class and lower limit of the next.

 Units of measurement (U): the distance between two possible

consecutive measures. It is usually taken as 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, -----.

 Class boundaries: Separates one class in a grouped frequency

distribution from another. The boundaries have one more decimal places
than the row data and therefore do not appear in the data. There is no gap
between the upper boundary of one class and lower boundary of the next
class. The lower class boundary is found by subtracting U/2 from the
corresponding lower class limit and the upper class boundary is found by
adding U/2 to the corresponding upper class limit.

 Class width: the difference between the upper and lower class
boundaries of any class. It is also the difference between the lower limits

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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of any two consecutive classes or the difference between any two

consecutive class marks.

 Class mark (Mid points): it is the average of the lower and upper class
limits or the average of upper and lower class boundary.

 Cumulative frequency: is the number of observations less than/more

than or equal to a specific value.

 Cumulative frequency above: it is the total frequency of all values

greater than or equal to the lower class boundary of a given class.

 Cumulative frequency blow: it is the total frequency of all values less

than or equal to the upper class boundary of a given class.

 Cumulative Frequency Distribution (CFD): it is the tabular

arrangement of class interval together with their corresponding
cumulative frequencies. It can be more than or less than type, depending
on the type of cumulative frequency used.
 Relative frequency (rf): it is the frequency divided by the total
frequency.

 Relative cumulative frequency (rcf): it is the cumulative frequency

divided by the total frequency.

Guidelines for classes

1. There should be between 5 and 20 classes.

2. The classes must be mutually exclusive. This means that no data value
can fall into two different classes
3. The classes must be all inclusive or exhaustive. This means that all
data values must be included.
4. The classes must be continuous. There are no gaps in a frequency
distribution.

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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5. The classes must be equal in width. The exception here is the first or
last class. It is possible to have a "below ..." or "... and above" class.
This is often used with ages.

Steps for constructing Grouped frequency Distribution

1. Find the largest and smallest values

2. Compute the Range(R) = Maximum - Minimum
3. Select the number of classes desired, usually between 5 and 20 or use
Sturges rule where k is number of classes desired and n
is total number of observation.
4. Find the class width by dividing the range by the number of classes
and rounding up, not off. .
5. Pick a suitable starting point less than or equal to the minimum value.
The starting point is called the lower limit of the first class. Continue
to add the class width to this lower limit to get the rest of the lower
limits.
6. To find the upper limit of the first class, subtract U from the lower
limit of the second class. Then continue to add the class width to this
upper limit to find the rest of the upper limits.
7. Find the boundaries by subtracting U/2 units from the lower limits and
adding U/2 units on the upper limits. The boundaries are also half-way
between the upper limit of one class and the lower limit of the next
class. !may not be necessary to find the boundaries.
8. Tally the data.
9. Find the frequencies.
10. Find the cumulative frequencies. Depending on what you're trying to
accomplish, it may not be necessary to find the cumulative
frequencies.
11. If necessary, find the relative frequencies and/or relative cumulative
frequencies

Example*:

Construct a frequency distribution for the following data.

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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11 29 6 33 14 31 22 27 19 20

18 17 22 38 23 21 26 34 39 27

Solutions:

Step 1: Find the highest and the lowest value H=39, L=6

Step 2: Find the range; R=H-L=39-6=33

Step 3: Select the number of classes’ desired using Sturges formula;

=1+3.32log (20) =5.32=6(rounding up)

Step 4: Find the class width; w=R/k=33/6=5.5=6 (rounding up)

Step 5: Select the starting point, let it be the minimum observation.

 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 are the lower class limits.

Step 6: Find the upper class limit; e.g. the first upper class=12-U=12-1=11

 11, 17, 23, 29, 35, 41 are the upper class limits.

So combining step 5 and step 6, one can construct the following classes.

Class limits

6 – 11

12 – 17

18 – 23

24 – 29

30 – 35

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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36 – 41

Step 7: Find the class boundaries;

E.g. for class 1 Lower class boundary=6-U/2=5.5

Upper class boundary =11+U/2=11.5

 Then continue adding w on both boundaries to obtain the rest boundaries. By

doing so one can obtain the following classes.

Class boundary

5.5 – 11.5

11.5 – 17.5

17.5 – 23.5

23.5 – 29.5

29.5 – 35.5

35.5 – 41.5

Step 8: Tally the data.

Step 9: Write the numeric values for the tallies in the frequency column.

Step 10: Find cumulative frequency.

Step 11: Find relative frequency or/and relative cumulative frequency.

The complete frequency distribution follows:

Class Class Class Tally Freq. Cf (less Cf (more rf. rcf (less

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limit boundary Mark than than than type

type) type)

6 – 11 5.5 – 11.5 8.5 // 2 2 20 0.10 0.10

12 – 17 11.5 – 17.5 14.5 // 2 4 18 0.10 0.20

18 – 23 17.5 – 23.5 20.5 ////// 7 11 16 0.35 0.55

24 – 29 23.5 – 29.5 26.5 //// 4 15 9 0.20 0.75

30 – 35 29.5 – 35.5 32.5 /// 3 18 5 0.15 0.90

36 – 41 35.5 – 41.5 38.5 // 2 20 2 0.10 1.00

Diagrammatic and Graphic presentation of data.

These are techniques for presenting data in visual displays using geometric and
pictures.

Importance:

 They have greater attraction.

 They facilitate comparison.

 They are easily understandable.

-Diagrams are appropriate for presenting discrete data.

-The three most commonly used diagrammatic presentation for discrete as well as
qualitative data are:

 Pie charts
 Pictograms

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 Bar charts

Pie chart

- A pie chart is a circle that is divided in to sections or wedges according

to the percentage of frequencies in each category of the distribution.
The angle of the sector is obtained using:

Angle of sector = Value of the part (individual frequency) × 3600

Total frequency

Example: Draw a suitable diagram to represent the following population in a town.

Men Women Girls Boys

2500 2000 4000 1500

Solutions:

Step 1: Find the percentage.

Step 2: Find the number of degrees for each class.

Step 3: Using a protractor and compass, graph each section and write its name corresponding
percentage.

Class Frequency Percent Degree

Men 2500 25 90

Women 2000 20 72

Girls 4000 40 144

Boys 1500 15 54

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CLASS

Boys Men

Girls Women

Pictograms

-In these diagram, we represent data by means of some picture symbols.

We decide abut a suitable picture to represent a definite number of units
in which the variable is measured.

Example: draw a pictogram to represent the following population of a town.

Year 1989 1990 1991 1992

Population 2000 3000 5000 7000

Bar Charts

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Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
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- A set of bars (thick lines or narrow rectangles) representing some

magnitude over time space.
- They are useful for comparing aggregate over time space.
- Bars can be drawn either vertically or horizontally.
- There are different types of bar charts. The most common being :
 Simple bar chart
 Deviation or two way bar chart
 Broken bar chart
 Component or sub divided bar chart.
 Multiple bar charts.
Simple Bar Chart

-Are used to display data on one variable.

-They are thick lines (narrow rectangles) having the same breadth. The magnitude
of a quantity is represented by the height /length of the bar.
Example: The following data represent sale by product, 1957- 1959 of a given
company for three products A, B, C.

Product Sales($) Sales($) Sales($)

In 1957 In 1958 In 1959
A 12 14 18
B 24 21 18
C 24 35 54

Solutions:

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Sales by product in 1957

30
25
Sales in $

20
15
10
5
0
A B C
product

Fig.2: Simple bar chart for sales by product in 1957

Component Bar chart

-When there is a desire to show how a total (or aggregate) is divided in to its
component parts, we use component bar chart.
-The bars represent total value of a variable with each total broken in to its component
parts and different colours or designs are used for identifications
Example:
Draw a component bar chart to represent the sales by product from 1957 to 1959.
Solutions:

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SALES BY PRODUCT 1957-1959

100

80
Product C
60
Sales in $

Product B
40
Product A
20

0
1957 1958 1959
Year of production

Fig.3: Component bar chart for sales by product of years 1957-1959

Multiple Bar charts

- These are used to display data on more than one variable.

- They are used for comparing different variables at the same time.
Example:
Draw a component bar chart to represent the sales by product from 1957 to 1959
Solutions:

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 Lecture notes on Introduction To Statistics Chapter 2 METHODS OF DATA
PRESENTATION

Sales by product 1957-1959

60
50
40 Product A
Sales in $

30 Product B
20 Product C

10
0
1957 1958 1959
Year of production

Graphical Presentation of data

- The histogram, frequency polygon and cumulative frequency graph or

ogive is most commonly applied graphical representation for
continuous data.
Procedures for constructing statistical graphs:
 Draw and label the X and Y axes.
 Choose a suitable scale for the frequencies or cumulative frequencies and
label it on the Y axes.
 Represent the class boundaries for the histogram or ogive or the mid points
for the frequency polygon on the X axes.
 Plot the points.
 Draw the bars or lines to connect the points.

Histogram

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A graph which displays the data by using vertical bars of various heights to
represent frequencies. Class boundaries are placed along the horizontal
axes. Class marks and class limits are some times used as quantity on the X
axes.

Example: Construct a histogram to represent the previous data (example *).

Frequency Polygon

- A line graph. The frequency is placed along the vertical axis and classes
mid points are placed along the horizontal axis. It is customer to the
next higher and lower class interval with corresponding frequency of
zero, this is to make it a complete polygon.
Example: Draw a frequency polygon for the above data (example *).
Solutions:
8

4
Value Frequency

0
2.5 8.5 14.5 20.5 26.5 32.5 38.5 44.5

Class Mid points

Ogive (cumulative frequency polygon)

- A graph showing the cumulative frequency (less than or more than

type) plotted against upper or lower class boundaries respectively. That
is class boundaries are plotted along the horizontal axis and the
corresponding cumulative frequencies are plotted along the vertical
axis. The points are joined by a free hand curve.
Example: Draw an ogive curve(less than type) for the above data (Example *).

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