Graphs, Charts, &

Tables:
Describing Your Data

Chapter 2

ALWAYS LEARNING Copyright © 2018, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide - 1
Learning Outcomes

1. Construct frequency distributions.

2. Construct and interpret a frequency histogram.
3. Develop and interpret joint frequency distributions.
4. Construct and interpret various types of bar charts.
5. Create a line chart and interpret the trend in the data.
6. Construct a scatter diagram and interpret it.
2.1 Frequency Distributions and Histograms
Frequency Distribution: A summary of a set of data that displays the
number of observations in each of the distribution’s distinct
categories or classes
Example: How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? (n=20)

# of Cups of Coffee Frequency

Per Day
0 2
1 5
2 7
3 4
4 1
5 1
Discrete Data
=Data that can take on a countable number of
possible values
Examples:
• Student Ages
• Number of pets
• Number of late deliveries per month
• Number of items bought by each customer at
Starbucks per transaction
Relative Frequency Distribution
Relative frequencies - the proportion of total observations
that are in a given category.

- Total number of observations

k - The number of different values for the discrete variable

Developing Relative Frequency Distribution

1 # of Cups of Coffee 2 Frequency 3 Relative

Per Day Frequency
0 2 0.10 2/20 = 0.10
1 5 0.25 5/20
2 7 0.35 7/20
3 4 0.20 4/20
4 1 0.05 1/20
5 1 0.05 1/20
TOTAL (N=20) 1.0
Grouped Data Frequency Distributions

• Variable of interest can be continuous or discrete

– Continuous data: whose possible values are
uncountable and that may assume any value in an
interval (weight, length, time)
– Discrete data with many possible outcomes (income,
stock prices, GPA’s)
• Summarized in a grouped data frequency distribution
• Data are organized in classes
Criteria for Building Classes
• Classes must be mutually exclusive.
– Classes do not overlap.
• Classes must be all-inclusive.
– A set of classes contains all possible data values.
• Classes should be of equal width, if possible.
– Distance between lowest and highest possible values
in each class is equal for all classes.
• Empty classes should be avoided.
 How Many Classes?
3.5 Too Many (Narrow class intervals)
3
2.5
– May yield a very jagged distribution
Frequency

2
1.5 with gaps from empty classes
1
0.5
0
– Can give a poor indication of how
frequency varies across classes
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
32
36
40
44
48
52
56
60
More
Temperature

12

10
Too Few (Wide class intervals)
– May compress variation too much
Frequency

6
4 and yield a blocky distribution
2

0 – Can obscure important patterns of

0 30 60 More
Temperature variation
Grouped Data Frequency Distributions

72 Cities
Step 1: Determine the number of classes

• Rule of thumb: between 5 and 20 classes

• 2k ≥ n rule,
– where k is the number of classes and is defined to
be the smallest integer so that
2k ≥ n, where n is the number of data values
– Trial and error to determine k
2k ≥ 72 cities k=5, 25=32
k=6, 26=64
k=7, 27=128 ≥ 72 Use 7 Classes
 Step 2: Establish the Class Width

The minimum class width:

W = 1,492 – 35 = = 208.1429
7

Round up to “Nicer” class width = 225

Step 3: Determine the Class Boundaries
Step 4: Determine Frequency for Each Class
Time, in seconds, to link systems Frequency
0 and under 225 9
225 and under 450 6
450 and under 675 12
675 and under 900 13
900 and under 1,125 14
1,125 and under 1,350 11
1,350 and under 1,575 7
 Frequency Histogram
• Graph That Displays a Frequency Distribution
– Horizontal Axis Contains the Possible Outcomes for the Variable of Interest
– Vertical Axis Shows the Frequency for Each Possible Outcome
– No Gaps Between Bars
Histograms Provide Information
• Displays the CENTER of the Data
• Displays the SPREAD in the Data
• Displays the SHAPE of the Data
 Joint Frequency Distribution
• Data characterized by two variables (can be
qualitative and quantitative)
Step 1: Obtain the data.
Example:
– Variable 1: Payment Method
– Variable 2: Parking Garage

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Joint Frequency Distribution

Step 2: Construct the rows and columns of the

joint frequency table.
 Joint Frequency Distribution
Step 3: Count the number of joint occurrences at each
row and column for all combinations and enter into the
cells
Step 4: Calculate the row and column totals.

40 Customers Paid By Charge

and Used Garage 1
Learning Outcomes

1. Construct frequency distributions.

2. Construct and interpret a frequency histogram.
3. Develop and interpret joint frequency distributions.
4. Construct and interpret various types of bar charts.
5. Create a line chart and interpret the trend in the data.
6. Construct a scatter diagram and interpret it.
 Bar Charts
• A graphical representation of a categorical data set in
which a rectangle or bar is drawn over each category or
class
• Length or height of each bar represents the frequency or
percentage of observations or some other measure.

Excuses for Being Late to Class

I got stuck in traffic
I forgot to set my alarm
I thought it was Saturday
I had no clean clothes to wear
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Number of Students
Constructing Bar Chart
Step 1: Define the categories for the variable of interest
Step 2: Determine the appropriate measure to display
Step 3: Develop the bar chart
Step 4: Interpret the results
2015 New Car Sales for the Top Average Price for AirBnB Units
Ten Automobile Companies
La Jolla $541
Mission Bay $387
Ocean Beach $307
Pacific Beach $294
Bay Park $289
Midtown $277
East Village $276
Balboa Park $253
Loma Portal $203
North Hills $187
Pie Charts
• A graph in the shape of a circle.
• Used to visually show the parts of a whole
• The circle is divided into “slices” corresponding to
the categories or classes to be displayed.
• The size of each slice is proportional to the
magnitude of the displayed variable associated
with each category or class.
 Constructing Pie Chart
Age of Community College Students in
California
Step 1: Define the categories
for the variable of interest.
Step 2: Determine the
appropriate measure or
value.
Step 3: Construct the pie
chart
 Incorrect Use of a Pie Chart
Tax Dollars Allocated by the
State of Idaho to Each of the
Higher Education Facilities in
the State

• Why is this the wrong type

of chart?

• What would be a better

chart?
Learning Outcomes

1. Construct frequency distributions.

2. Construct and interpret a frequency histogram.
3. Develop and interpret joint frequency distributions.
4. Construct and interpret various types of bar charts.
5. Create a line chart and interpret the trend in the data.
6. Construct a scatter diagram and interpret it.
 2.3 Line Charts, Scatter Diagrams, and
Pareto Charts
• Line Chart
– A two-dimensional chart showing time on the
horizontal axis and the variable of interest on the
vertical axis – Used to Display Time-Series
 Constructing Line Charts
Step 1: Identify the time-
series variable of
interest.
Step 2: Construct the
horizontal and vertical
axes.
Step 3: Plot the points of
the graph and connect
them with straight lines
Scatter Diagram / Plot
Shows the relationship between two quantitative
variables
• Dependent Variable, y
– Values are thought to be a function of, or dependent
on another variable
• Independent Variable, x
– Values are thought to impact the values of the
dependent variable
Scatter Diagrams Reveal Relationships
 Constructing Scatter Diagrams
Step 1: Identify the two variables of
interest
Step 2: Identify the dependent and
independent variable.
Step 3: Establish scales for the
vertical and horizontal axes.
Step 4: Plot the joint values for the
two variables by placing a point in
the x, y space.
Step 5: Interpret the relationship.
 Pareto Chart – A Special Type of Bar Chart
• Pareto Principal: 80-20 rule for quality applications
• Example: A company tracks causes of machine downtime and
the minutes of downtime associated with each cause. Present
data as a Pareto chart.