Frequency Distribution

Psychological Statistics – Preliminary Topics

John Lester C. Baroro

Instructor
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the student will be able to:
 Organize data using a frequency distribution.
 Represent data in frequency distributions graphically
using histograms, frequency polygons, and ogives.
 Represent data using bar graphs, Pareto charts, time
series graphs, and pie graphs.
 Draw and interpret a stem and leaf plot.
 Values the purpose of organizing the data using
different tools like frequency distribution, and its
graphical representation.
Lesson overview:

This chapter explains how to organize

data by constructing frequency
distributions and how to present the data
by constructing charts and graphs.
Topic Outline:
Organizing Data
◦ Categorical Frequency
◦ Grouped Frequency
◦ Ungrouped Frequency
Histograms, Frequency Polygons, and
Ogives
Other Types of Graphs
Introduction:
This chapter explains how to organize data
by constructing frequency distributions and
how to present the data by constructing
charts and graphs. The charts and graphs
illustrated here are histograms, frequency
polygons, ogives, pie graphs, Pareto charts,
and time series graphs. A graph that
combines the characteristics of a frequency
distribution and a histogram, called a stem
and leaf plot, is also explained.
Organizing Data
A frequency distribution is the
organization of raw data in table
form, using classes and
frequencies consists of classes
and their corresponding
frequencies.
There are two common ways in
organizing data using frequency
Distribution.
Categorical Frequency Distributions
◦ The categorical frequency distribution is used for data
that can be placed in specific categories, such as
nominal- or ordinal-level data.
Grouped Frequency Distributions
◦ When the range of the data is large, the data must be
grouped into classes that are more than one unit in
width, in what is called a grouped frequency
distribution.
To construct a group frequency distribution,
follow these rules:

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.
Cumulative Frequency distribution
Is a distribution that shows the number
of data values less than or equal to a
specific value (usually an upper
boundary).

Ungrouped Frequency Distribution

When the range of the data values is
relatively small, a frequency distribution
can be constructed using single data
values for each class.
Procedure Table
Constructing a Grouped Frequency Distribution
Step 1 Determine the classes.
◦ Find the highest and lowest values.
◦ Find the range.
◦ Select the number of classes desired.
◦ Find the width by dividing the range by the number of classes and
rounding up.
◦ Select a starting point (usually the lowest value or any convenient
number less than the lowest value); add the width to get the lower
limits.
◦ Find the upper class limits.
◦ Find the boundaries.
Step 2 Tally the data.
Step 3 Find the numerical frequencies from the tallies, and find
the cumulative frequencies.
Example
Organize the salary level of the different employee in a company. The data is presented
below as recorded from the conducted survey.
8000 7000
21000 16000
17000 27000
23000 14000
17000 17000
27000 17000
19000 18000
13000 11000
12000 24000
26000 6000

Graphing Example:
Example:
If the data is grouped into category
according to the following list make a
categorical frequency distribution of the
data.

Category Class Limit

Partime Lesser than 10,000
Regular 10,001 – 20,000
Supervisor 20,001 and above
Example 2

Try using ungrouped frequency

distribution and use cumulative frequency
distribution in grouped frequency
distribution and categorical frequency
distribution.
Graphs and Charts
Histogram
The 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.
Graphs and Charts
Frequency Polygon
The 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.
Graphs and Charts
The Ogive
The ogive is a graph that represents the cumulative
frequencies for the classes in a frequency distribution.
Relative Frequency Graphs
The histogram, the frequency polygon, and the ogive shown
previously were constructed by using frequencies in terms of the
raw data. These distributions can be converted to distributions
using proportions instead of raw data as frequencies. These
types of graphs are called relative frequency graphs.
Relative Frequency Graphs
Distribution Shapes
Distribution Shapes
Example
Use the Example above in making the
example graph.

Example 1.
Activity 1
Convert all the data in the example in
to relative frequency and use relative
frequency graph.
Group Frequency Distribution
Categorical Frequency Distribution
Cumulative Frequency Distribution
And graph the following.
Other Types of Graph
The bar graph, Pareto chart, time series
graph, and pie graph
Other Types of Graph
The bar graph, Pareto chart, time series
graph, and pie graph
Bar Graph
A bar graph represents the data by using
vertical or horizontal bars whose heights or
lengths represent the frequencies of the data.

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

The 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.
Stem and Leaf Plots
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
Stem and Leaf Plots
Afterword:
God Bless everyone hope you find the topic
exciting and understandable.

To find more about the topic please look into

the following pages in the book.
From Book Page 36 (File Page 69)
To Book Page 101 (File Page 134)

-John Lester Baroro

Part-time Instructor
Thank you for Watching

"We must be careful not to confuse data

with the abstractions we use to analyze
them."

-William James