CROSS TABULATIONS

The Use and Interpretation of Cross-

Tabulation Analysis-1
• A cross tabulation (often abbreviated as cross tab)
displays the joint distribution of two or more variables.

• They are usually presented as a contingency table in a

matrix format.

• Whereas a frequency distribution provides the

distribution of one variable, a contingency table
describes the distribution of two or more variables
simultaneously.

• Cross tabulation analysis, also known as contingency

table analysis is most often used to analyze categorical
(nominal measurement scale) data.
 The Use and Interpretation of Cross-
Tabulation Analysis-2
• A cross-tabulation is a two (or more) dimensional table
that records the number (frequency) of respondents that
have the specific characteristics described in the cells of
the table.

• Cross-tabulation tables provide a wealth of information

about the relationship between the variables.

• Note: chi square is used to test the statistical

significance of the cross tabulations.
 Why using cross tabs?
• They are easy to understand. They appeal to people
who do not want to use more sophisticated measures

• They can be used with any level of measurement:

nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Cross tabs treat all
data as if it is nominal.

• A table can provide greater insight than single statistics.

• It solves the problem of empty or sparse cells.

• They are simple to conduct.

 Applications of Cross-tabs-1
 Cross-tabulations are differentiated depending on the
objectives and the type of study:

1. Cross-tabulations that aim at describing the problem

under study by presenting a combination of variables.

 Exploratory and descriptive studies will generate such

tables, but also in analytic studies it is necessary to first
describe the problem under study
 Applications of Cross-tabs-2
2. Cross-tabulations analysing the relationships between
independent and dependent variables, i.e., between
defined problems and factors contributing to those
problems.

 Exploratory studies that identify contributing factors to

problems may generate such analytical cross-tables

 Cross-sectional comparative studies, case-control

studies and cohort studies will automatically require
them for the identification of associations.
 Applications of Cross-Tabs-3
3. Cross-tables which aim at comparing the outcome of
interventions/ experiments in a study group that participated
in the intervention and a control group that did not participate,
to determine whether the intervention made a difference.

 This is the standard procedure in experimental and quasi-

experimental studies.

4. Cross-tables describing the sample(s) taken from the study

populations on which the research concentrates.

 These are very common and are required in any type of study.
 Examples on application of cross tabs
1. Cross-tabulations to describe the sample
 In any study, whether small scale (exploratory) or large
scale, it is common to first describe the research subjects
included in the sample(s) before presenting the actual results
of the study.

 This can be done for separate variables in a simple

frequency table or for a combination of variables in a cross-
table.
Example 1:
A study was carried out on the degree of job satisfaction
among doctors and nurses in rural and urban areas. To
describe the sample a cross-tabulation was constructed
which included the sex and the residence (rural or urban) of
the doctors and nurses interviewed. This was useful because
in the analysis the opinions of male and female staff had to
be compared separately for rural and urban areas.
• Table 1: Type of health worker by
residence

Table 1 shows that a higher percentage of nurses than of doctors work

in rural areas, but that, overall, a greater proportion of staff works in
urban areas (67%).
2. Descriptive tables to describe a problem
 It is common to describe the problem on which a study
concentrates.
 Cross-tables are very helpful in this respect.

Example 2:
• We want to know the ages at which teenage
pregnancies occur and whether they are more frequent
among schoolgirls than among girls who are not
attending school. In order to answer these questions we
may construct the following cross-tabulation. (The data
are imaginary.)
Table 2: Number of teenage pregnancies at different ages among girls
attending school and not attending school (Province X, 1998 - 2000)

Table 2 reveals that pregnancies occur already from 12 years onwards, but that from
15 years onwards the problem increases sharply in both girls who attend and who do
not attend school. However, the percentage of pregnancies is higher among girls not
going to school (almost 20%) than among girls who go to school (13,6%), and the
first group appears to get pregnant at a slightly younger age.
3. Analytic cross-tabulations
 In cross-sectional comparative and case-control
studies we compare two groups, one with a selected
problem and one without, to identify independent
variables that contribute to the problem.

 Cross-sectional comparison is based on a larger cross-

sectional survey (which is a descriptive study).

 However, it can form the basis for a comparative study

when we select extreme groups from the survey sample,
one with a specific problem (such as severe malnutrition)
and a control group (of well-nourished children) to
identify contributing factors to the problem (of
malnutrition).
Example 3: on analytic cross-tabs
One of the possible contributing factors to malnutrition of
under 5’s is knowledge of the mothers of appropriate
weaning foods. The cross-sectional comparative study
on malnutrition based on the survey gave the following
results:

Table 3: nutritional status of children vs mothers nutritional knowledge

Interpretation of results in Table 3
• It seems that the mothers of severely malnourished
children have far less knowledge of weaning foods than
the mothers of well nourished children.

• Other analytical cross tabs can be constructed for the

study mentioned in example 3. Each time the two
groups can be systematically displayed in the columns.
Different independent variables will then be put in rows,
such as source of drinking water (protected or
unprotected) or immunization status (fully immunised or
not)