MODULE 2

MODULE IN PRESENTATION OF DATA

Discussions on some of the topics in this module are based from my notes when I take my Master of
Statistics in UP Diliman and my PhD in Social Science Research in Leyte Normal University. Others were
based from my personal knowledge and experience when dealing with the situation that requires my
personal decision and from my readings and researches from different references which I also
mentioned and acknowledged in this material. Some authors and books are mention in this material for
the students to take a look for further readings and references.

ROBERTO E. CAPON, PhD

There are three ways of presenting data:

1. Tabular presentation
2. Graphical Presentation
3. Textual Presentation

Common Tabular Presentation of Data

A. Frequency Distribution – grouping the data into a number of classes or categories. This is the
most common tabular presentation of data consisting of two columns. The first column is the
name of the data or the class column and the second column is the frequency count of each
class or category.

There are two types of frequency distribution

1. Numerical Frequency Distribution

2. Categorical Frequency distribution

This is an example of a numerical frequency distribution:

Scores Frequency
1–3 1
4–6 2
7–9 3
10 – 12 2
13 – 15 6
16 – 18 3
19 – 21 5
22 – 24 5
25 – 27 2
28 – 30 1
TOTAL 30
This frequency distribution shows the scores of 30 students. The first column is labeled scores
representing the kind of information shown in the table and the second column is labeled frequency
representing the number of students with the corresponding scores shown in the first column.

I will introduce some statistical terms that you will often encounter when dealing with a numerical
frequency distribution.

1. Class limits – there are two limits in each class, the lower limit and the upper limit. For class 1 –
3, the lower limit is 1 and the upper limit is 3. For class 19 – 21, the lower limit is 19 and the
upper limit is 21.
2. Class boundaries - class boundaries are the boundaries of the two classes. There are two class
boundaries in every class, the lower class boundary and the upper class boundary. The boundary
between class 1 – 3 and class 4 – 6 is 3.5. That is the number between the upper limit of class 1
– 3 and the lower limit of class 4 – 6. The upper class boundary for class 1 – 3 is 3.5 which also
the lower class boundary for class 4 – 6. The two classes share the same class boundaries but no
two classes should share the same class limits.
3. Class interval – class interval is the distance between the lower class boundary and the upper
class boundary. The lower class boundary for class 1 – 3 is 0.5 while the upper class boundary is
3.5. The class interval for class 1 – 3 is 3.5 – 0.5 which is equal to 3.
4. Class mark – class marks are the mid points of every class. The midpoint of class 1 – 3 is 2 and
that is the class mark for that particular class. You may simply add the lower limit and the upper
limit and divide it by 2 to get the class mark for each class. Adding 10 and 12 and dividing it by 2
is equal to 11 and that is the class mark for class 10 – 12.

How to construct a numerical frequency distribution

Let us consider that these are the scores of 30 students in a given exam:

5 1 19 22 29 25

9 13 7 17 15 15

12 25 5 14 21 24

11 22 24 16 18 20

21 15 19 13 24 9

The first step in constructing a numerical frequency distribution is to determine the class interval. You
may simply subtract the lowest data from the highest data and divide it by the desired number of
classes. In the raw data shown above, the highest data is 29 while the lowest data is 1. If we want to
construct a frequency distribution with 10 classes, subtract 29 by 1 and divide it by 10 and the result is
2.8. Class interval should always be an integer so you have to choose an interval of 3.
The first class of your frequency distribution must accommodate the lowest data while the last class
should accommodate the highest data. Considering that the lowest data is 1 and the highest data is 29,
you could start from class 0 -2 and end at class 27 – 29 or you could start from class 1 – 3 and end at
class 28 – 30. Out of the raw data given above, a frequency distribution starting from class 1 – 3 will be
constructed maintaining a class interval of 3.

SCORES FREQUENCY
1–3
4–6
7–9
10 – 12
13 – 15
16 – 18
19 – 21
22 – 24
25 – 27
28 – 30
One important consideration in constructing a numerical frequency distribution is you maintain a
constant interval. You could maintain the class interval by subtracting the lower limit from the upper
limit of the first class and add the result to the lower limit of the upper class to get the upper limit of
that class. I started from class 1 – 3 to accommodate the lowest data which is 1. The lower limit of the
next upper class is 4, the next integer to the upper limit (3) of class 1 – 3. Subtracting 1 from 3 and
adding the result to the lower limit of the next class which is 4 is equal to 6. This is the upper limit of the
next class. So the next class is class 4 – 6. The lower limit of the next class is 7 and adding 2 to 7 is equal
to 9 which is now the upper limit of the next class. So the next class is class 7 – 9. Follow the same
procedure for the next classes until you end up at class 28 – 30. The highest data which is 29 is
accommodated in this class.

You can now start tabulating the data after constructing the class or the data column. Tabulate the data
one at a time starting from the first data up to the last data in the list. The first data is 5, followed by 9
and 12.

SCORES FREQUENCY
1–3
4–6 /
7–9 /
10 – 12 /
13 – 15
16 – 18
19 – 21
22 – 24
25 – 27
28 – 30
Continue the process until all the data in your list are tabulated. Do not count the number of data that
belong to the corresponding classes to construct the frequency distribution. There is a big possibility
that you will miss some data in the list resulting to a defective frequency distribution. Take note that in
order to have a reliable result, all information gathered should be reliable and procedures used are
scientific.
This will be the final outcome after tabulating the data:
SCORES FREQUENCY
1–3 /
4–6 //
7–9 ///
10 – 12 //
13 – 15 ///// -/
16 – 18 ///
19 – 21 /////
22 – 24 /////
25 – 27 //
28 – 30 /

Present the frequency distribution in its final form after the tabulation and this is now the final form of
your frequency distribution:

Scores Frequency

1–3 1
4–6 2
7–9 3
10 – 12 2
13 – 15 6
16 – 18 3
19 – 21 5
22 – 24 5
25 – 27 2
28 – 30 1
TOTAL 30

Another type of a frequency distribution is the categorical frequency distribution. This type of frequency
distribution shown below will only describe your data and give you the number of data that belong to a
particular category. This will not allow you compute and know the different measures of location and
measures of variation. This categorical frequency distribution shows the number of patients in a certain
hospital. You have to present also some reliable information regarding the data when presenting the
data in tabular form. You may also include the timeline for the categorical frequency distribution
presented below.
Department No. of Patients
IM 52
OB Gyne 39
Pedia 43
Surg 11
OPD 139
TOTAL 284

B. Cumulative Frequency Distribution – Another type of tabular presentation of data is the

cumulative frequency distribution. There are two types of cumulative distribution.
1. Less than cumulative frequency distribution
2. Greater than cumulative frequency distribution

Less than cumulative frequency (LTCF) are based from the upper class boundary. The frequency
distribution below shows that there is one data whose value ranging from 1 to 3 but you do not know
the actual value of the data. The upper class boundary of class 1 – 3 is 3.5 and there is only one data
whose value is less than 3. 5. So the cumulative frequency for class 1 – 3 is 1. The frequency for class 4 –
6 is 2 which show that there are two data whose values ranging from 4 to 6. The upper class boundary
for class 4 – 6 is 6.5 and the total number of data whose values less than 6.5 is 3. These are the data
whose values ranging from 1 – 3 which is 1 and the number of data whose values ranges from 4 to 6
which is 2. Continue this process to complete the table. The last less than cumulative frequency should
be equal to the total number of data.

Scores Frequency LTCF

1–3 1 1
4–6 2 3
7–9 3 6
10 – 12 2 8
13 – 15 6 14
16 – 18 3 17
19 – 21 5 22
22 – 24 5 27
25 – 27 2 29
28 – 30 1 30
TOTAL 30

Another type of cumulative distribution is the greater than cumulative frequency distribution. Greater
than cumulative frequencies (GTCF) are based from the lower class boundary. The lower class boundary
for class 1 – 3 is 0.5 and the number of data whose values more than 0.5 is 30. All the values of the 30
data are more than 0.5. the lower class boundary for class 4 – 6 is 3.5 and the total number of data
whose values more than 3.5 is 29. These are the data that belong to class 4 – 6 up to class 28 – 30. These
data are all more than 3.5. Continue the process until the table is completed.

Scores Frequency LTCF GTCF

1–3 1 1 30
4–6 2 3 29
7–9 3 6 27
10 – 12 2 8 24
13 – 15 6 14 22
16 – 18 3 17 16
19 – 21 5 22 13
22 – 24 5 27 8
25 – 27 2 29 3
28 – 30 1 30 1
TOTAL 30

C. Percentage Distribution – just divide the corresponding frequencies by the total number of data
and multiply it by 100 to construct the percentage distribution. The total should always be equal
to 100. However an allowance of plus and minus 0.03 is allowed to accommodate the so called
rounding off error. You have to adjust the percentage counts if the error exceeds 0.03. The
frequency for class 1 – 3 is 1 and dividing it by 30 and multiplying the result by 100 will give us
3.33. Continue the process until the table is completed.

Scores Frequency LTCF GTCF %

1–3 1 1 30 3.33
4–6 2 3 29 6.67
7–9 3 6 27 10.00
10 – 12 2 8 24 6.67
13 – 15 6 14 22 20.00
16 – 18 3 17 16 10.00
19 – 21 5 22 13 16.67
22 – 24 5 27 8 16.67
25 – 27 2 29 3 6.67
28 – 30 1 30 1 3.33
TOTAL 30 100.01
 D. Ranking – you could rank your data either from lowest to highest or from highest to
lowest.

Initial Ranking: In ranking your frequency distribution from lowest to highest, assign rank
starting from rank 1 and up with no class having the same rank to start the initial ranking.

Scores Frequency Rank (L – H;initial)

1–3 1 1
4–6 2 3
7–9 3 6
10 – 12 2 4
13 – 15 6 10
16 – 18 3 7
19 – 21 5 8
22 – 24 5 9
25 – 27 2 5
28 – 30 1 2
TOTAL 30

Final ranking: add the ranks of the classes with the same frequency and divide it by the total
number of classes with the same frequency to get the final rank of each class. Class 1 – 3 and class 28 –
30 have the same frequency of 1. The initial rank of class 1 – 3 is 1 while the initial rank for class 28 – 30
is 2. You add 1 and 2 and divide it by 2 and the result is 1.5. This is the final rank of the two classes.
Classes 4 – 6, 10 – 12, 25 – 25 have the same frequencies of 2. Their initial ranks are 3, 4 and 5. Adding 3
+ 4 + 5 = 12 and dividing it by 3 (the total number of classes with the same initial ranks) is equal to 4.
This is now the final rank for the three classes. Continue the process until you completed the final
ranking. This is now the final ranking of the table.

Scores Frequency Rank (L – H;final)

1–3 1 1.5
4–6 2 4
7–9 3 6.5
10 – 12 2 4
13 – 15 6 10
16 – 18 3 6.5
19 – 21 5 8.5
22 – 24 5 8.5
25 – 27 2 4
28 – 30 1 1.5
TOTAL 30
Follow the same procedure in ranking the frequency distribution from highest to lowest. Do the initial
ranking as shown in the table below:

Initial Ranking:
Scores Frequency Rank (H – L)
1–3 1 9
4–6 2 6
7–9 3 4
10 – 12 2 7
13 – 15 6 1
16 – 18 3 5
19 – 21 5 2
22 – 24 5 3
25 – 27 2 8
28 – 30 1 10
TOTAL 30

Final ranking:
Scores Frequency Rank (H – L)

1–3 1 9.5
4–6 2 8
7–9 3 5.5
10 – 12 2 8
13 – 15 6 1
16 – 18 3 5.5
19 – 21 5 2.5
22 – 24 5 2.5
25 – 27 2 8
28 – 30 1 9.5
TOTAL 30

Common Graphical Presentation of Data

1. Histogram – is a common graphical presentation of a frequency distribution. The same

information is presented by both frequency distribution and the histogram but in two different
ways. It is constructed by representing the classes or categories that are grouped on a horizontal
scale, the class frequencies on a vertical scale and drawing rectangles whose bases equal the
class interval and whose heights are determined by the corresponding class frequencies.
Histograms do not have space between bars while the bar graph has a space between bars.
Example: Histogram

The histogram for the age of

respondents shows how the variable
age is distributed according to its
frequency. The highest frequency lies
between ages 30 to 40 while the
lowest frequency lies between ages
20 and 60.

2. Frequency Polygon – is also a graphical presentation of a frequency distribution. Class

frequencies are plotted on the vertical scale while the class marks are plotted at the horizontal
scale. Like a point in the Cartesian coordinated system, each point is represented by two values
which are the class mark and the frequency. The successive points are connected by means of
straight lines. Classes are added with zero frequencies at both ends of the distribution to tie
down the graph to the horizontal scale in order to complete the polygon.

3. Ogive – is based on the cumulative distribution and the class boundaries are presented in the
horizontal scale while the cumulative frequencies are presented in the vertical scale. There are
two types of ogives, the less than ogive and the greater than ogive. Less than ogive is based on
the less than cumulative distribution while the greater than ogive is based on the greater than
cumulative distribution.
 4. Pie Chart – a pie like figure (circle) representing and based on the percentage distribution.

Example: Pie Chart

The pie chart of the type of

respondents shows the distribution of
the respondents according to the type
they classify into. The spouse category
occupies a larger portion in the pie
chart while the smallest area is
occupied by the percentage of the
respondents under the other
members of the family category.

When to present data in tabular and graphical form!

It is more preferable to present your data in tabular form if the total number of classes or
categories is more than five and present your data in graphical form if the total number of
classes or categories is less than six. However, there are people and journals who prefer tabular
presentation over graphical. You have to decide what presentation is the most acceptable for
your work. But never present data in graphical form which is already presented in tabular form.
Both graphical and tabular presentations are followed by a short explanation of the graph or the
table. Just discuss the important points in your table or graphs and avoid explaining the entire
table.

References:
1. Freund, John E., Williams, Frank J.; Business statistics
2. Ronald E. Walpole (1974); Introduction to Statistics: Third Edition; EDCA Publishing &
Distributing Corporation, Quezon City
3. Ronald E. Walpole, Raymond H. Myers, Sharon L. Myers (1998); Probability and Statistics for
Engineers and Scientists: sixth edition; Prentice Hall International, Inc.
 GUIDED EXERCISES
Fill the blanks of this guided exercise with the correct figures, words, phrases or sentences,
write your name in every page and scan it together with your solution of the exercises given at
the end of this material. Send these materials through email to robbiecapon@gmail.com.

There are three ways of presenting data namely, the presentation, the
graphical presentation and the presentation of data.

Common Tabular Presentation of Data

The most common tabular presentation of data is the . It consists of

two columns and the data is grouped into a number of classes or categories. . The first column is the
name of the data or the class column and the second column is the of each
class or category.

There are two types of frequency distribution and these are the

And the .

This is an example of a numerical frequency distribution:

Scores Frequency

1–5 5
6 – 10 9
11 – 15 12
16 – 20 12
21 – 25 16
26 – 30 15
31 – 35 14
36 – 40 11
41 – 45 8
46 – 50 8
TOTAL 110
This frequency distribution shows the scores of 110 students. The first column is labeled scores
representing the kind of information shown in the table and the second column is labeled frequency
representing the number of students with the corresponding scores shown in the first column.

I will introduce some statistical terms that you will often encounter when dealing with a numerical
frequency distribution.
 Class limits – there are two limits in each class, the lower limit and the upper limit. For class 1 –
5, the lower limit is and the upper limit is 5. For class 31 – 35, the lower
limit is 31 and the upper limit is .
Class boundaries - class boundaries are the boundaries of the two classes. There are two class
boundaries in every class, the lower class boundary and the upper class boundary. The boundary
between class 1 – 5 and class 6 – 10 is . That is the number between the
upper limit of class 1 – 5 and the lower limit of class 6 – 10. The upper class boundary for class 1
– 5 is 5.5 which also the lower class boundary for class 6 – 10. The two classes share the same
class boundaries but no two classes should share the same class limits.
Class interval – class interval is the distance between the lower class boundary and the upper
class boundary. The lower class boundary for class 1 – 5 is 0.5 while the upper class boundary is
5.5. The class interval for class 1 – 5 is 5.5 – 0.5 which is equal to 5.
Class mark – class marks are the of every class. The midpoint of class 1
– 5 is 3 and that is the class mark for that particular class. You may simply add the lower limit
and the upper limit and divide it by 2 to get the class mark for each class. Adding 11 and 15 and
dividing it by 2 is equal to 13 and that is the class mark for class 11 – 15.

How to construct a numerical frequency distribution

Let us consider that these are the scores of 50 students in a given exam:

4 39 25 27 42 14 21 42 24 19

7 49 1 25 33 9 24 47 21 12

19 41 12 32 33 9 27 28 28 36

19 44 15 37 29 12 31 31 33 41

21 32 24 39 17 19 36 12 24 22

The first step in constructing a numerical frequency distribution is to determine the .

You may simply subtract the lowest data from the highest data and divide it by the desired number of
classes. In the raw data shown above, the highest data is 49 while the lowest data is 1. If we want to
construct a frequency distribution with 10 classes, subtract 49 by 1 and divide it by 10 and the result is
4.8. Class interval should always be an integer so you have to choose an interval of .

The first class of your frequency distribution must accommodate the data while the
last class should accommodate the data. Considering that the lowest data is 1 and
the highest data is 49, you could start from class 0 -4 and end at class 45 – 49 or you could start from
class 1
– 5 and end at class 46 – 50. Out of the raw data given above, a frequency distribution starting from
class 0 – 4 will be constructed maintaining a class interval of 5.

One important consideration in constructing a numerical frequency distribution is you maintain a

constant . You could maintain the class interval by subtracting the lower limit from
the upper limit of the first class and add the result to the lower limit of the upper class to get the upper
limit of that class. You started from class 0 – 4 to accommodate the lowest data which is 1. The lower
limit of the next upper class is 5, the next upper integer to the upper limit (4) of class 0 – 4. Subtracting 0
from 4 and adding the result to the lower limit of the next class which is 5 is equal to 9. This is the upper
limit of the next class. So the next class is class 5 – 9. The lower limit of the upper class of class 5 to 9 is
10 and adding 4 to 10 is equal to 14 which is now the upper limit of the next class. So the next class is
class . Follow the same procedure for the next classes until you end up at class 45 –
49. The highest data which is is accommodated in this class.

You can now start tabulating the data after constructing the class or the data column. Tabulate the data
one at a time starting from the first data up to the last data in the list. The first data is 4, followed by 39
and 25.

Continue the process until all the data in your list are tabulated. Do not the
number of data that belong to the corresponding classes to construct the frequency distribution. There
is a big possibility that you will miss some data in the list resulting to a defective frequency
distribution. Take note that in order to have a reliable result, all information gathered should be
reliable and procedures used are scientific.
This will be the final outcome after tabulating the data: (fill the blanks: 3 points)
SCORES FREQUENCY
0–4

35 - 39
5

TOTAL 50

Another type of a frequency distribution is the categorical frequency distribution. This is an example of a
categorical frequency distribution:

Department No. of Patients

IM 52
OB Gyne 39
Pedia 43
Surg 11
OPD 139
TOTAL 284
This type of frequency distribution will only describe your data and give you the number of data that
belong to a particular category. This will not allow you compute and know the different measures of
location and measures of variation. This categorical frequency distribution shows the number of
patients in a certain hospital. You have to present also some reliable information regarding the data
when presenting the data in tabular form. You may include the timeline for the categorical frequency
distribution presented above.

You _ _ construct a frequency distribution like the one shown below:

AGE f
Below 2 9
3–4 19
5–6 24
7 – 12 39
13 – 16 52
17 – 18 29
19 – 25 64_
TOTAL 236
Remember that there are two types of frequency distribution, the frequency
distribution and the frequency distribution. The frequency distribution shown above
may not be considered a numerical frequency distribution but a categorical frequency distribution.

E. Cumulative Frequency Distribution – Another type of tabular presentation of data is the

cumulative frequency distribution. There are two types of cumulative distribution. The
cumulative frequency distribution and the
than cumulative frequency distribution

Less than cumulative frequency (LTCF) are based from the upper class boundary. The frequency
distribution below shows that there are two data whose values ranging from 0 to 4 but you do not know
the actual value of the data. The upper class boundary of class 0 – 4 is and there are
two

Scores Frequency LTCF

0–4 2
5–9 3
10 – 14 5
15 – 19 6 16
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 7
30 – 34 7
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2 50
TOTAL 50
data whose values less than 4. 5. So the cumulative frequency for class 0 – 4 is 2. The frequency for class
5 – 9 is 3 which show that there are three data whose values ranging from 5 to 9.

The upper class boundary for class 5 – 9 is 9.5 and the total number of data whose values less than 9.5 is
. These are the data whose values ranging from 0 – 4 which is 2 and the number
of data whose values ranging from 5 to 9 which is 3. Continue this process to complete the table.
{Complete the table above by filling the blanks of the LTCF column (3 points).}

Another type of cumulative distribution is the greater than cumulative frequency distribution. Greater
than cumulative frequencies (GTCF)are based from the class boundary. The lower
class boundary for class 0 – 4 is and the number of data whose values more
this value is 50. All the values of the 50 data are more than -0.5. The lower class boundary for class 5 –
9 is 4.5 and the total number of data whose values more than 4.5 is 48. These are the data that belong
to class 5 – 9 up to class 45 – 49. {Complete the table below by filling the blanks of the GTCF column (3
points).}

Scores Frequency GTCF

0–4 2 50
5–9 3
10 - 14 5
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 7 26
30 – 34 7
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2
TOTAL 50

F. Percentage Distribution – just divide the corresponding frequencies by the total number of data
and multiply it by 100 to construct the percentage distribution. The total should always be equal
to .
However an allowance of plus and minus 0.03 is allowed to accommodate the so called
rounding off error. You have to adjust the percentage counts if the error exceeds 0.03. The
frequency for class 0 – 4 is 2 and dividing it by 50 and multiplying the result by 100 will give us 4.
Continue the process until the table is completed. {Complete the table below by filling the
blanks of the % column (2 points).}
 Scores Frequency %
0–4 2 4.0
5–9 3
10 - 14 5
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 8 16 0
25 – 29 7
30 – 34 7
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2
TOTAL 50

G. Ranking – you could rank your data either from lowest to highest or from highest to lowest.
Initial Ranking: In ranking your frequency distribution from lowest to highest, assign rank
starting from rank 1 and up with no class having the same rank to start the initial ranking.

Example:

Scores Frequency Rank (initial)

0–4 2 1
5–9 3 3
10 - 14 5 4
15 – 19 6 7
20 – 24 8 10
25 – 29 7 8
30 – 34 7 9
35 – 39 5 5
40 – 44 5 6
45 – 49 2 2
TOTAL 50

After the initial ranking, you have to finalize the ranking by adding the ranks of the classes with the
same frequency and divide it by the total number of classes with the same frequency to get the final
rank of each class. Class 0 – 4 and class 45 – 49 have the same frequency of 2. The initial rank of class 0 –
4 is 1 while the initial rank for class 45 – 49 is 2. You add 1 and 2 and divide it by 2 and the result is 1.5.
 Scores Frequency Rank (final)
0–4 2
5–9 3
10 - 14 5
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 7
30 – 34 7
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2
TOTAL 50

This is the final rank of the two classes. Classes 10 – 14, 35 – 39, and class 40 – 44 have the same
frequencies of 5. Their initial ranks are 4, 5 and 6. Adding 4 + 5 + 6 = 15 and dividing it by 3 (the total
number of classes with the same initial ranks) is equal to 5. This is now the final rank for the three
classes. Continue the process until you completed the final ranking. {Complete the table above by filling
the blanks of the rank column (3 points).}

Follow the same procedure in ranking the frequency distribution from highest to lowest. Do the initial
ranking in the table below: {Complete the table below by filling the blanks of the rank column (2
points).}

Initial Ranking:

Scores Frequency Rank (initial)

0–4 2
5–9 3
10 - 14 5
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 7
30 – 34 7 3
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2
TOTAL 50

Final ranking: Do the final ranking in the table below. {Complete the table below by filling the blanks of
the rank column (2 points).}
 Scores Frequency Rank (final)

0–4 2
5–9 3 8
10 - 14 5
15 – 19 6
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 7
30 – 34 7
35 – 39 5
40 – 44 5
45 – 49 2
TOTAL 50

Common Graphical Presentation of Data

1. Histogram – is a common graphical presentation of a frequency distribution. The same

information is presented by both frequency distribution and the histogram but in two different
ways. It is constructed by representing the classes or categories that are grouped on a
scale, the class frequencies on a vertical scale and drawing rectangles whose bases equal the
class interval and whose heights are determined by the corresponding class frequencies.

Example: Histogram

The histogram for the age of

respondents shows how the variable
age is distributed according to its
frequency. The highest frequency lies
between ages 30 to 40 while the
lowest frequency lies between ages 20
and 60.

2. Frequency Polygon – is also a graphical presentation of a frequency distribution. Class

frequencies are plotted on the vertical scale while the are plotted at the
 horizontal scale. Each point is represented by two values which are class mark and the
frequency. The successive points are connected by means of straight lines. Classes are added
with zero frequencies at both ends of the distribution to tie down the graph to the horizontal
scale in order to complete the polygon.

3. Ogive – is based on the distribution. The class boundaries are presented in the
horizontal scale while the cumulative frequencies are presented in the vertical scale. There are
two types of ogives, the less than ogive and the greater than ogive. Less than ogive is based on
the less than cumulative distribution while the greater than ogive is based on the greater than
cumulative distribution.

4. Pie Chart – a pie like figure (circle) representing and based on the percentage distribution.

Example: Pie Chart

The pie chart of the type of

respondents shows the distribution of
the respondents according to the
type they classify into. The spouse
category occupies a larger portion in
the pie chart while the smallest area
is occupied by the percentage of the
respondents under the other
members of the family category.

When to present data in tabular and graphical form!

It is more preferable to present your data in tabular form if the total number of classes or
categories is more than five and present your data in graphical form if the total number of
classes or categories is less than six. However, there are people and journals who prefer tabular
presentation over graphical. You have to decide what presentation is the most acceptable for
your work. But never present data in graphical form which is already presented in tabular form.
 Both graphical and tabular presentations are followed by a short of the graph
or the table. Just discuss the important points in your table or graphs and avoid explaining the
entire table.

Exercises:

12 1 35 33 15 29 15 16
19 39 14 24 27 35 15 19
32 21 27 13 12 24 12 21
29 15 31 19 3 31 9 32
4 32 7 20 9 20 9 27
Out of the data given above:
a) Construct a frequency distribution starting from class 0 -3.
b) Construct the greater than cumulative frequency distribution.
c) Construct the percentage distribution.
d) Rank from highest to lowest.
e) Construct the histogram.
f) Construct the less than ogive.