FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION and GRAPHS

After completing this lesson, you should be able to

1. Organize data using a frequency distribution.
2. Represent data in frequency distributions graphically using histograms, frequency polygons, and ogives.
3. Represent data using bar graphs, Pareto charts, time series graphs, and pie graphs.
4. Draw and interpret a stem and leaf plot.

Organizing Data
Suppose a researcher wished to do a study on the ages of the top 50 wealthiest people in the world. The researcher first
would have to get the data on the ages of the people. In this case, these ages are listed in Forbes Magazine. When the data
are in original form, they are called raw data and are listed next.

49 57 38 73 81
74 59 76 65 69
54 56 69 68 78
65 85 49 69 61
48 81 68 37 43
78 82 43 64 67
52 56 81 77 79
85 40 85 59 80
60 71 57 61 69
61 83 90 87 74

Since little information can be obtained from looking at raw data, the researcher organizes the data into what is called a
frequency distribution. A frequency distribution consists of classes and their corresponding frequencies. Each raw data value is
placed into a quantitative or qualitative category called a class. The frequency of a class then is the number of data values contained
in a specific class.

A Frequency distribution table (FDT) is a statistical table showing the frequency or number of observations contained in
each of the defined classes or categories.

Types of FDT
1. Qualitative or Categorical FDT – an FDT where the data are grouped according to some qualitative characteristics; data are
grouped into non-numerical categories.

Example:
Frequency Distribution of the gender of Respondents in a Survey
Gender of respondents Number of respondents
Male 38
Female 62
Total 100

2. Quantitative or Numerical FDT – the data are grouped according to some numerical or quantitative characteristics

Example:
Frequency Distribution of the Weights of 50 pieces of Luggage
Weight (in Kilograms) Frequency
7–9 2
10 – 12 8
13 – 15 14
16 – 18 19
19 – 21 7
Total 50
Steps in the Construction of an FDT
1. Decide on the number of class intervals k. The number of class intervals is usually between 5 and 20.
2. Determine the range R.
R = Highest Value – Lowest Value
3. Determine the class size i by the formula i = R/k. Round up the interval size if there is decimal. Also, after dividing, if there
is no remainder, you will need to add an extra class to accommodate all the data, or consider i = R/k + 1
4. Select a starting point for the lowest class limit. This can be the smallest data value or any convenient number less than the
smallest data value.
5. List all the class limits and class boundaries by adding the class width to the limits and boundaries of the previous interval.
6. Determine the class marks of each interval by averaging the class limits or the class boundaries.
7. Tally the frequencies for each class.
8. Sum the frequency column and check against the total number of observations.

Other columns in an FDT:

1. Class Boundaries
2. Class Marks (Xi)– midpoint of the class interval where the observations tend to cluster about
3. Relative Frequency – the proportion of observations falling in a class and is expressed in percentage
4. Cumulative Frequency
a. less than cumulative frequency (<cf) – total number of observations less than the upper boundary of a class
interval
b. greater than cumulative frequency (>cf) – total number of observations greater than the lower boundary of a class
interval

The reasons for constructing a frequency distribution are as follows:

1. To organize the data in a meaningful, intelligible way.
2. To enable the reader to determine the nature or shape of the distribution.
3. To facilitate computational procedures for measures of average and spread.
4. To enable the researcher to draw charts and graphs for the presentation of data.
5. To enable the reader to make comparisons among different data sets.

Examples.
1. Distribution of Blood Types. Twenty-five army inductees were given a blood test to determine their blood type. The
data set is
A B B AB O
O O B AB B
B B O A O
A O O O AB
AB A O B A
Construct a frequency distribution for the data.

2. Construct the FDT of the following scores of 30 students in their first quiz in statistics using five classes.
45 38 49 22 22 34
37 44 27 28 38 35
24 49 37 33 26 43
37 29 40 39 37 30
26 41 20 36 46 35

3. When the range of the data values is relatively small, a frequency distribution can be constructed using single data values
for each class. This type of distribution is called an ungrouped frequency distribution.

The data shown here represent the number of miles per gallon (mpg) that 30 selected four-wheel-drive sports utility
vehicles obtained in city driving. Construct a frequency distribution, and analyze the distribution.
12 17 12 14 16 18
16 18 12 16 17 15
15 16 12 15 16 16
12 14 15 12 15 15
19 13 16 18 16 14
Graphical Representation of the Frequency Distribution Table
1. Frequency Polygon – a line chart that is constructed by plotting the frequencies at the class marks and connecting the
plotted points by means of straight lines; the polygon is closed by considering an additional class at each end and the ends
of the lines are brought down to the horizontal axis at the midpoints of the additional classes.

2. Frequency Histogram – a bar graph that displays the classes on the horizontal axis and the frequencies of the classes on
the vertical axis; the vertical lines of the bars are erected at the class boundaries and the height of the bars correspond to the
class frequency.

3. Ogives – graphs of the cumulative frequency distributions

a. < Ogive – the <cf is plotted against the upper boundary
b. > Ogive - the >cf is plotted against the lower boundary
Other Types of Graphs
In addition to the histogram, the frequency polygon, and the ogive, several other types of graphs are often used in statistics.
They are the bar graph, Pareto chart, time series graph, and pie graph.

1. A bar graph represents the data by using vertical or
horizontal bars whose heights or lengths represent the
frequencies of the data.
2. A Pareto chart is used to represent a frequency
distribution for a categorical variable, and the
frequencies are displayed by the heights of vertical
bars, which are arranged in order from highest to
lowest.

3. A time series graph represents data that occur over a 4. A pie graph is a circle that is divided into sections or
specific period of time. wedges according to the percentage of frequencies in
each category of the distribution.

A stem and leaf plot is a data plot that uses part of the data value as the stem and part of the data value as the leaf to form
groups or classes. A display can be made by using the leading digit as the stem and the trailing digit as the leaf.

Example. At an outpatient testing center, the number of cardiograms performed each day for 20 days is shown. Construct a stem and
leaf plot for the data.
25 31 20 32 13
14 43 02 57 23
36 32 33 32 44
32 52 44 51 45