Data Collection and Presentation

Data
Data Collection
The collection, organization, and presentation of data are basic background material for learning
descriptive and inferential statistics and their applications

Method of Collecting Data

On the basis of the source of collection data may be classified as:
 Primary data
 Secondary data
Types of Data
There are two types of data. They are:
 Numerical Data
 Categorical Data

Collection of Data
Collection of Data
The data which are originally collected for the first time for the purpose of the survey are called primary
data. For example facts or data collected regarding the habit of taking tea or coffee in a village by an
investigator.

Method of Collecting Primary Data

There are several methods for collecting primary data. Some of them are:
 Direct personal investigation
 Indirect investigations
 Through correspondent
 By mailed questionnaire
 Through schedules

Secondary Data
When we use the data, which have already been collected by others, the data are called secondary
data.This data is said to be primary for the agency which collects it first, and it becomes secondary for
all the other users.

Method of Collecting Secondary Data

 Published reports of newspapers, RBI and periodicals.
 Publication from trade associations
 Financial data reported in annual reports
 Information from official publications
 Publication of international bodies such as UNO,World Bank etc.
 Internal reports of the government departments
 Records maintained by the institutions
 Research reports prepared by students in the universities

Types of Data
Categorical Data
Categorical data is the statistical data type consisting of categorical variables or of data that has been
converted into that form, for example as grouped data. For example- Marital Status, Political Party, Eye
Color, etc.

Numerical Data
Numerical values or observations can be measured. And these numbers can be placed in ascending or
descending order. Numerical data can be divided into two groups:
 Discrete(Counted Items such as- number of children, defects per hour etc.)
 Continuous(Measured Characteristics such as- weight, voltage etc.)

Level of Measurement/ Measurement Scale

Examples:
Differences between Height, Age, Weekly Food
Ratio Data measurements, true zero exists Spending

Differences between Temperature in Fahrenheit,

Interval Data measurements but no true zero Standardized exam score

Ordered categories (ranking, Service quality rating, standard

Ordinal Data order, or scaling) and poor’s bond rating, student
letter grades

Nominal Data Categories ( no ordering or Marital Status, type of car

direction) owned

Data Presentation
Presentation of Data
Data collected in the form of schedules and questionnaires are not self explanatory. These are in the
form of raw data. In order to make them meaningful, these are to be made presentable.

Presentation of Categorical Data

Categorical Data can be presented by two ways:
 Tabulating Data(Summary Table)
 Graphing Data (Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Pareto Diagram)

Presentation of Numerical Data

 Ordered Array (Stem-and-Leaf Display)
 Frequency/Cumulative Distributions (Histogram, Polygon, Ogive)

Ordered Array
 A sequence of data in rank order:
 Shows range (min to max)
 Provides some signals about variability within the range
 May help identify outliers (unusual observations)
 If the data set is large, the ordered array is less useful
 Example- Data in raw form (as collected): 24, 26, 24, 21, 27, 27, 30, 41, 32, 38
 Data in ordered array from smallest to largest:21, 24, 24, 26, 27, 27, 30, 32, 38, 41

Stem-and-leaf Diagram
Simple way to see distribution details in a data set. To make this diagram first We have to separate the
sorted data series into leading digits (the stem) and the trailing digits (the leaves).
Stem and Leaves of 21, 38 and 41 is,
Stem Leaf
 2 1
3 8
4 1

Frequency/Cumulative Distribution
What is a Frequency Distribution?
 A frequency distribution is a list or a table
 Containing class groupings (ranges within which the data fall)
 The corresponding frequencies with which data fall within each grouping or category.

The reasons for using Frequency Distributions are:

 It is a way to summarize numerical data
 It condenses the raw data into a more useful form
 It allows for a quick visual interpretation of the data

Class Intervals and Class Boundaries

 Each class grouping has the same width
 Determine the width of each interval by
Width of Interval= Range______
No. of desired class groupings
 Usually at least 5 but no more than 15 groupings
 Class boundaries never overlap
 Round up the interval width to get desirable endpoints

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