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Chapter 2

Descriptive Statistics: Tabular and Graphical Presentations

variable of interest on the horizontal axis and the frequency, relative frequency,
or percent fre-quency on the vertical axis. The frequency, relative frequency, or
percent frequency of each class is shown by drawing a rectangle whose base is
determined by the class limits on the hor-izontal axis and whose height is the
corresponding frequency, relative frequency, or percent frequency.
Figure 2.4 is a histogram for the audit time data. Note that the class with the greatest
frequency is shown by the rectangle appearing above the class of 1519 days. The height of
the rectangle shows that the frequency of this class is 8. A histogram for the relative or percent
frequency distribution of these data would look the same as the histogram in Figure 2.4 with
the exception that the vertical axis would be labeled with relative or percent frequency values.

As Figure 2.4 shows, the adjacent rectangles of a histogram touch one

another. Unlike a bar graph, a histogram contains no natural separation between
the rectangles of adjacent classes. This format is the usual convention for
histograms. Because the classes for the audit time data are stated as 10 14, 15
19, 20 24, 2529, and 30 34, one-unit spaces of 14 to 15, 19 to 20, 24 to 25,
and 29 to 30 would seem to be needed between the classes. These spaces are
eliminated when constructing a histogram. Eliminating the spaces between
classes in a histogram for the audit time data helps show that all values between
the lower limit of the first class and the upper limit of the last class are possible.
One of the most important uses of a histogram is to provide information about the shape,
or form, of a distribution. Figure 2.5 contains four histograms constructed from relative frequency distributions. Panel A shows the histogram for a set of data moderately skewed to the
left. A histogram is said to be skewed to the left if its tail extends farther to the left. This
histogram is typical for exam scores, with no scores above 100%, most of the scores above
70%, and only a few really low scores. Panel B shows the histogram for a set of data moderately skewed to the right. A histogram is said to be skewed to the right if its tail extends
farther to the right. An example of this type of histogram would be for data such as hous-ing
prices; a few expensive houses create the skewness in the right tail.
Panel C shows a symmetric histogram. In a symmetric histogram, the left tail mirrors the
shape of the right tail. Histograms for data found in applications are never perfectly symmetric, but the histogram for many applications may be roughly symmetric. Data for SAT
scores, heights and weights of people, and so on lead to histograms that are roughly symmetric. Panel D shows a histogram highly skewed to the right. This histogram was constructed from data on the amount of customer purchases over one day at a womens apparel
store. Data from applications in business and economics often lead to histograms that

FIGURE 2.4 HISTOGRAM FOR THE AUDIT TIME DATA

enc y

7
6
5

Freq

4
3
2
1
1014
Audit Time (days)

1519

2024

2529

3034