Psychological Statistics

Chapter 2 – ORGANIZATION AND PRESENTATION OF DATA

Introduction

This chapter provides discussion and actual

activities in gathering and recording data. A systematic
way of conducting the activities is essential so as to
gather a more reliable data needed. After the data has
been collected, tabulating it is the next necessary step
before analysis and interpretation of the set of data can
be made. To get a better insight of the data, a pictorial
representation of this data is a necessary aspect. Here,
your artistic and creativity will be explored.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the chapter, you are expected to:
1. organize data systematically;
2. construct a frequency distribution for a given set of data; and
3. choose and construct the appropriate graphs for particular type of data;

Learning Content & Learning Activities

Data are usually collected in a raw format and thus the inherent information is difficult to
understand. Therefore, raw data need to be summarized, processed, and analyzed. However, no
matter how well manipulated, the information derived from the raw data should be presented in an
effective format, otherwise, it would be a great loss for both authors and readers.
Data are set of facts, and provide a partial picture of reality. Whether data are being collected
with a certain purpose or collected data are being utilized, questions regarding what information the
data are conveying, how the data can be used, and what must be done to include more useful
information must constantly be kept in mind.
Collected data must be organized in order to show significant characteristics. They can be
presented in three forms:
1. Textual, where data is presented in paragraph form - Text is the principal method for
explaining findings, outlining trends, and providing contextual information.
2. Tabular, where data is presented in rows and columns - A table is best suited for
representing individual information and represents both quantitative and qualitative
information.
3. Graphical, where data is presented in visual form - A graph is a very effective visual tool as
it displays data at a glance, facilitates comparison, and can reveal trends and relationships
within the data such as changes over time, frequency distribution, and correlation or
relative share of a whole.

Text, tables, and graphs for data and information presentation are very powerful
communication tools. They can make an article easy to understand, attract and sustain the interest of
readers, and efficiently present large amounts of complex information

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FREQUENCY TABLE

Data can be presented in various forms depending on the type of data collected. A frequency
distribution is a table showing how often each value (or set of values) of the variable in question
occurs in a data set. A frequency table is used to summarize categorical or numerical data.
Frequencies are also presented as relative frequencies, that is, the percentage of the total number in
the sample.

EXAMPLE 1: Frequency distribution of peptic ulcer according to site of

ulcer
Site of ulcer Frequency Percent
Gastric ulcer 24 30.0
Duodenal ulcer 50 62.5
Gastric and duodenal ulcer 6 7.5
TOTAL 80 100

EXAMPLE 2: Thirty (30) students were

asked to rate “How stressed they were in
the last 2½ weeks, on a scale of 0 to 10,
with 0 being not at all stressed and 10
being as stressed as possible?”

Frequency table of Students Rating Each Value

of the Stress Scale

Stress Rating Frequency Percent

0 1 3.3
1 1 3.3
2 1 3.3
3 2 6.7
4 1 3.3
5 2 6.7
6 4 13.3
7 7 23.3
8 5 16.7
9 3 10
10 3 10
TOTAL 30 100

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GRAPHICAL METHODS

Frequency distributions and are usually illustrated graphically by plotting various types of graphs:

Bar graph - A bar graph is a way of summarizing a set of

categorical data. It displays the data using a number of
rectangles, of the same width, each of which represents
a particular category. Bar graphs can be displayed
horizontally or vertically and they are usually drawn
with a gap between the bars (rectangles).

Histogram - A histogram is a way of summarizing data

that are measured on an interval scale (either discrete
or continuous). It is often used in exploratory data
analysis to illustrate the features of the distribution of
the data in a convenient form. The histogram is a
sequences of vertical rectangles, each rectangle has a
base equal to the class interval and a height
corresponding to the class frequency. It can be plotted
in a coordinate system with its bases on the horizontal
or the x-axis with centers at the class marks and width
equal to the size of the class intervals.

Pie chart - A pie chart is used to display a set of

categorical data. It is a circle, which is divided into
segments. Each segment represents a particular
category. The area of each segment is proportional to
the number of cases in that category.

Line graph - A line graph is particularly useful when we

want to show the trend of a variable over time. Time is
displayed on the horizontal axis (x-axis) and the variable
is displayed on the vertical axis (y- axis).

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Frequency polygon - This is constructed by plotting the class frequencies against the class marks and
connecting the successive points with a straight line. The heights of the points represent
the frequencies.

Ogive (oh-jive), sometimes called a cumulative frequency polygon, is a type of frequency polygon that
shows cumulative frequencies. An ogive graph plots cumulative frequency on the y-axis and class
boundaries along the x-axis.

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION

Grouped data are data formed by aggregating individual observations of a variable into
groups, so that a frequency distribution of these groups serves as a convenient means of summarizing
or analyzing the data. 

The grouped frequency table is a statistic method to organize and simplify a large set of
data in to smaller "groups." When a data consists of hundreds of values, it is preferable to group
them in a smaller chunks to make it more understandable. When grouped frequency table is
created, scientists and statistician can observe interesting trends in the data.
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The main purpose of the grouped frequency table is to find out how often each value
occurred within each group of the entire data. The group frequency distribution is essentially a
table with two columns. The first column titled "class interval" represents all possible "grouping" of
the data and the second column titled "frequency" represents how frequent each value occurred
within each group.

Guidelines for classes

1. There should be between 5 and 20 classes.

2. The class width should be an odd number. This will guarantee that the class midpoints are
integers instead of decimals.
3. The classes must be mutually exclusive. This means that no data value can fall into two
different classes.
4. The classes must be all inclusive or exhaustive. This means that all data values must be
included.
5. The classes must be continuous. There are no gaps in a frequency distribution. Classes that
have no values in them must be included (unless it's the first or last class which are dropped).
6. The classes must be equal in width.

Creating a Grouped Frequency Distribution

1. Find the largest and smallest values

2. Compute the Range = Maximum - Minimum
3. Select the number of classes desired. This is usually between 5 and 20.
4. Find the class width by dividing the range by the number of classes and rounding up.
5. Pick a suitable starting point less than or equal to the minimum value.
6. To find the upper limit of the first class, subtract one from the lower limit of the second class.
Then continue to add the class width to this upper limit to find the rest of the upper limits.
7. Find the class boundaries by subtracting 0.5 units from the lower limits and adding 0.5 units
from the upper limits. The boundaries are also half-way between the upper limit of one class
and the lower limit of the next class.
8. Tally the data.
9. Find the frequencies.
10. Find the cumulative frequencies. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, it may not
be necessary to find the cumulative frequencies.
11. If necessary, find the relative frequencies and/or relative cumulative frequencies.

Activity:
Consider the height, in centimeters, of 100 students in a Statistics class. The heights of
these students are presented below:

158 153 148 162 161 160 170 156 157 166
151 158 152 164 155 160 154 155 166 147
163 165 142 154 156 163 150 168 157 167
138 164 160 161 157 164 160 162 144 163
162 157 155 167 152 158 150 154 160 163
155 158 168 151 172 163 161 164 156 153
158 163 169 167 160 165 159 147 159 162
160 158 153 172 161 144 141 164 156 161
156 157 157 158 164 157 162 160 158 160
162 159 156 161 157 158 160 152 160 153
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These heights presented are raw data. Raw data is data collected which have not been
organized numerically. From the raw data, it is difficult for anyone to pick out the salient features of
the data. For this reason, it is essential for the investigator to arrange the collected data in some form
that will enable him to see immediately those features he wishes to determine. Hence, there is really
a need to organize raw data in a more logical order.

The data above can be organized by arranging them either from highest to lowest or vice
versa. Whichever arrangement we consider will give us an easier way of determining some features
about the data. Such organization is called an array.

Although an array is a systematic order of arranging values in a set of measurements,

grouping the data into classes and determining the number of individuals belonging to each class is a
more systematic way of organizing the set of data. The data is grouped into a relatively small number
of class intervals, each class interval covering the same ranges of items of the data. The tabular
arrangement of data by class intervals and their associated frequency number is called a frequency
distribution or frequency table. Data organized and summarized in a frequency distribution is called
grouped data. Here, the identity of the individual items is destroyed but, an overall picture of the set
of data is obtained.

Now, let us organize the data above in a frequency distribution table.

Class Less than Greater than Relative
Class interval Tally Frequency boundaries Class mark cum. freq. cum. freq. freq. (%)
(<CF) (>CF)

170-172 III 3 169.5-172.5 171 100 3

167-169 IIII I 6 9
164-166 IIII IIII 10
161-163 IIII IIII IIII III 18
158-160 IIII IIII IIII IIII 23 23
III
155-157 IIII IIII IIII III 18
152-154 IIII IIII 10
149-151 IIII 4
146-148 III 3
143-145 II 2
140-142 II 2 3
137-139 I 1 1 100
Total 100 100
Each class interval has its own lower and upper limit. For the class interval 155-157, the lower
limit is 155 and the upper limit is 157. But theoretically, the class interval 155-157 includes all
measurements between 154.5 and 157.5. These new limits are called class boundaries or true class
limits. The smaller number 154.5, is the lower-class boundary and the larger number, 157.5, is the
upper-class boundary.
For purposes of computations, each class interval should be represented by a single item,
called class mark, and is represented by the midpoint of the class interval. The class mark of the class
interval can be obtained by adding the lower- and upper-class limits and dividing by two. Thus, the
class mark of the interval 155-157 is (155 + 157)/2 = 156.
It is sometimes desired to determine the frequency less than or greater than a specified
value. The total frequency of all values less than the upper-class boundary of a given class interval or
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greater than the lower boundary of a given class interval is called the cumulative frequency up to and
including that of the given class interval. If we obtain the cumulative frequency from the smallest
upper-class boundary up to the highest upper-class boundary, we have a “less than” cumulative
frequency distribution. If we obtain the cumulative frequency from the highest lower-class boundary
up to the smallest lower-class boundary, we have a “greater than” cumulative frequency distribution.
Sometimes, it is more convenient to interpret data in terms of percent. The frequencies in
the different class intervals maybe expressed as a percentage. Such is called relative frequency. The
relative frequency of a class is determined by dividing the frequency of the class by the total
frequency of all the class intervals. For example, in the above frequency distribution, 23/100 or 23%
of the whole group has a height ranging from 158 cm to 160 cm.

Assessment Task

1. Complete the frequency distribution table in the activity.

2. Construct the graphical representation of the distribution in the activity.
a. Histogram
b. Frequency Polygon
c. Ogive

References

Altares, Priscilla S., et. al. 2003. Elementary Statistics: A Modern Approach. Rex Book Store.
Manila, Philippines
Deauna, Melecio C. 1999. Elementary Statistics for Basic Education. Phoenix Publishing House,
Inc. QC. Philippines

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