Frequency

Distributions
and Graphs
Chapter 2: PSY 102

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A. Organizing Data

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A. Frequency Table

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 Frequency Table

A frequency distribution is an organized tabulation of the number

of individuals located in each category on the scale of
measurement.

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 Basic Terms
— Raw Data: When data are collected in original form, they are
called raw data.

— Frequency: the frequency will be the number of values in a

specific class of the distribution.

— Frequency Distribution: A frequency distribution is the

organization of raw data in table form, using classes and
frequencies.

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— Categorical Frequency Distributions - can be used for data
that can be placed in specific categories, such as nominal- or
ordinal-level data. Examples - political affiliation, religious
Examples - affiliation, blood type etc.

— Grouped Frequency Distribution: be used when the range

of values in the data set is very large. The data must be
grouped into classes that are more than one unit in width.

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 Categorical
frequency
distributions

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 Categorical frequency
distributions
Trust in Internet Information A survey was taken on how much trust people
place in the information they read on the Internet. Construct a categorical
frequency distribution for the data. A trust in everything they read, M
trust in most of what they read, H trust in about one-half of what they read,
S trust in a small portion of what they read. (Based on information from the
UCLA Internet Report.)

Class Frequency Proportion Percent

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Class Frequency Proportion Percent

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 Grouped
Frequency
Distribution

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 Frequency Distribution

Class interval: The class interval is obtained by

subtracting the lower limit of a class from the lower
limit of the next class.

Class frequency: The number of observations in each

class.

Class midpoint: A point that divides a class into two

equal parts. This is the average of the upper and
lower class limits.

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Creating a Frequency
Distribution Table

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 Guidelines
1. The grouped frequency distribution table should have
about 10 class intervals

2. The width of each interval should be a relatively simple

number. For example, 2, 5, 10, or 20 would be a good
choice for the interval width.

3. The bottom scores in each class interval should be a

multiple of the width. If you are using a width of 10 points,
for example, the intervals should start with 10, 20, 30, 40,
and so on.

4. All intervals should be the same width.

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 Other Guidelines
1. There should be between 5 and 20 classes.
2. It is preferable but not absolutely necessary that the class
width be an odd number.

3. The classes must be mutually exclusive.

4. The classes must be continuous.
5. The classes must be exhaustive.
6. The classes must be equal in width.

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— Shown here are four frequency distributions. Each is
incorrectly constructed. State the reason why.

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Histograms, Frequency Polygons,
and Ogives

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 Graphic Presentation of a Frequency
Distribution

The three commonly used graphic forms are:

— Histograms
— Frequency polygons
— Cumulative frequency distributions

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— histogram is a graph that displays the data by using
contiguous vertical bars (unless the frequency of a class is 0)
of various heights to represent the frequencies of the
classes.

— frequency polygon is a graph that displays the data by using

lines that connect points plotted for the frequencies at the
midpoints of the classes. The frequencies are represented by
the heights of the points.

— ogive is a graph that represents the cumulative frequencies

for the classes in a frequency distribution.

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 Histogram
HISTOGRAM A graph in which the classes are marked on the horizontal
axis and the class frequencies on the vertical axis. The class frequencies
are represented by the heights of the bars and the bars are drawn
adjacent to each other.

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Histogram Using Excel

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 Frequency Polygon
— A frequency polygon
also shows the shape
of a distribution and is
similar to a histogram.

— It consists of line
segments connecting
the points formed by
the intersections of the
class midpoints and the
class frequencies.

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 Histogram Versus Frequency Polygon

— Both provide a quick picture of the main characteristics of the data

(highs, lows, points of concentration, etc.)

— The histogram has the advantage of depicting each class as a

rectangle, with the height of the rectangular bar representing the
number in each class.

— The frequency polygon has an advantage over the histogram. It

allows us to compare directly two or more frequency distributions.

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Cumulative Frequency
Distribution

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Cumulative Frequency
Distribution

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 Relative frequency
— Many populations are so large that it is impossible to know
the exact number of individuals (frequency) for any specific
category.

— In these situations, population distributions can be shown

using relative frequency instead of the absolute number of
individuals for each category.

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 Smooth curve
— If the scores in the population are measured on an interval
or ratio scale, it is customary to present the distribution as a
smooth curve rather than a jagged histogram or polygon.

— The smooth curve emphasizes the fact that the distribution

is not showing the exact frequency for each category.

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 Frequency distribution graphs
— Frequency distribution graphs are useful because they show
the entire set of scores.
— At a glance, you can determine the highest score, the lowest
score, and where the scores are centered.
— The graph also shows whether the scores are clustered
together or scattered over a wide range.

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 Shape
— A graph shows the shape of the distribution.
— A distribution is symmetrical if the left side of the
graph is (roughly) a mirror image of the right side.
— One example of a symmetrical distribution is the
bell-shaped normal distribution.
— On the other hand, distributions are skewed when
scores pile up on one side of the distribution,
leaving a "tail" of a few extreme values on the other
side.

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 Positively and Negatively
Skewed Distributions
— In a positively skewed distribution, the scores tend to pile up
on the left side of the distribution with the tail tapering off to
the right.

— In a negatively skewed distribution, the scores tend to pile up

on the right side and the tail points to the left.

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Other Types of Graphs Used in
Statistics

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 Bar Graph
— A bar graph represents the data by using vertical or
horizontal bars whose heights or lengths represent the
frequencies of the data.

The table shows the average money

spent by first-year college students. Draw
a horizontal and vertical bar graph for
the data.

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 Pareto Chart
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.

The table shown here is the average cost per

mile for passenger vehicles on state turnpikes.
Construct and analyze a Pareto chart for the
data.

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 Time Series Graph
A time series graph represents data that occur over a specific
period of time.

The arson damage to

churches for the years 2001
through 2005 is shown.
Construct and analyze a time
series graph for the data.

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 Pie Graph
A pie graph is a circle that is divided into sections or wedges
according to the percentage of frequencies in each category of
the distribution.

This frequency distribution

shows the number of
pounds of each snack food
eaten during the Super
Bowl. Construct a pie graph
for the data.

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 Stem and Leaf plot
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.

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.

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— The Great Lakes Shown are various statistics about the
Great Lakes. Using appropriate graphs (your choice)

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 Quiz
A. Categorical frequency distributions:
B. Categorical frequency distributions:
(a)Table (b) Bar Graph
(a)Table (b) Bar Graph
Women’s Softball Champions Achievement Scores

CEOs Ages at their Success Peaks

C. Group
frequency
distributions
(a)Table
(b)Histogram
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 PERCENTILES, PERCENTILE
RANKS, AND INTERPOLATION

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 Percentile Rank
— The rank or percentile rank of a particular score is defined
as the percentage of individuals in the distribution with
scores equal to or less than the particular value.

— When a score is identified by its percentile rank, the score is

called a percentile.

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 References
— Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences by Gravetter & Wallnau

— Elementary Statistics: A Step by Step Approach by Bluman

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