DATA PRESENTATION

Statistical data can be presented in any three key ways namely, tabular, graphical and
Diagrammatic.

Tabular presentation of data

1. Raw data are collected data that have not been organized numerically. An array is an
arrangement of raw numerical data in ascending or descending order of magnitude.
2. When summarizing large masses of data, it is often useful to distribute the data into
classes, or categories, and to determine the number of individuals belonging to each
class, called the class frequency.
3. A tabular arrangement of data by classes together with corresponding class
frequencies is called a frequency distribution, or frequency table.

Characteristics of a Statistical Table

Statistical table for whatever purpose has some features to be observed
1 Title: A table should have a title explaining its content
2 Column title: Each column should be given a title to show order of classification
along the column
3 Row title: Each row should be given a title to show order of classification along
the row
4 Source: Each table should contain at the bottom, the source of the information
5 Indication of Unit: Each table must indicate the unit in which the data is given

Construction of a Frequency Distribution Table

Frequency distribution Table
A frequency distribution is a tabular presentation of data showing how often each
item/observation/score or group of scores has occurred.

Example
1 The data below shows the number of times each patient took the prescribed medicine
in a month.
19,15,15,19,29,17,17,20,29,19,20,29,15,17,19,
15,17,20,20,29,20,29,20,17,29,29,20,19,20,17
Construct a frequency distribution table to show the attendance
 Solution
Took prescription Tally Mark Frequency
15 IIII 4
17 IIII I 6
19 IIII 5
20 IIII III 8
29 IIII II 7

2 The data below shows the number of times 40 women gave birth in a certain village in
Badagry.
5, 1, 8, 7, 5, 3, 2, 4, 9, 8, 7, 2, 0, 5, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 7
3, 2, 9, 7, 8, 5, 2, 3, 9, 4, 5, 4, 1, 2, 5, 5, 8, 1, 4, 7
Present the data in a frequency table
Solution
Score Tally Mark Frequency
0 1
1 IIII 5
2 IIII I 6
3 IIII 5
4 IIII 4
5 IIII II 7
7 IIII 5
8 IIII 4
9 III 3

3 The following are the record of weights of forty women immediately after giving
birth in an urban hospital.
38 46 68 46 61 64 58 26 73 45
50 40 38 42 35 32 47 76 47 42
44 36 63 35 50 25 48 19 53 56
49 52 54 40 45 57 44 65 35 28
a) Using the class interval 19 - 27, 28 - 36 -----, construct a grouped frequency
distribution table:
b) construct a cumulative frequency distribution table and draw an ogive

Solution
a) Grouped frequency distribution table

Score Tally Mark Frequency

19-27 III 3
28-36 IIII I 6
37-45 IIII IIII 10
46-54 IIII IIII I 11
55- 63 IIII 5
64-72 III 3
73-81 II 2
 b) Cumulative frequency table
Score Tally Mark Frequency Cumulative frequency
19-27 III 3 3
28-36 IIII I 6 3+6=9
37-45 IIII IIII 10 9 + 10 =19
46-54 IIII IIII I 11 19 + 11 = 30
55- 63 IIII 5 30 + 5 = 35
64-72 III 3 35 + 3 = 38
73-81 II 2 38 + 2 = 40

Exercises
1 The test scores of thirty students are as follows
4,1,2,3,5,5,4,6,3,3,2,3,1,4,6,2,4,3,5,6,6,4,5,2,4,1,5,2,3,4,
Construct a frequency distribution table for the distribution
2 Given that a class of 40 students was given a test in the course AMS 1205, out of a
maximum of 15 marks, the following scores were obtained.

5, 10, 8, 7, 5, 3, 12, 14, 9, 8, 7, 2, 0, 5, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 7

13, 12, 9, 7, 8, 5, 12, 13, 9, 4, 15, 14, 10, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 4, 7

i. Arrange the scores in descending order

ii. What is the lowest score? How many people earned the highest score?
iii. What is the most frequent score?
iv. If the pass mark is fixed at 7. How many people passed? How many people
failed?

3. The following is the sample of the heights (to the nearest pound) of 40 male students
in Al Istiqama University, Sumaila. The data were recorded. Using a class size of 9,
construct a grouped frequency distribution table:
138 146 168 146 161 164 158 126 173 145
150 140 138 142 135 132 147 176 147 142
144 136 163 135 150 125 148 119 153 156
149 152 154 140 145 157 144 165 135 128
 Statistical Charts
Statistical charts are the means of presenting statistical data in pictorial form. The charts
made it easier for most people to understand the meaning of data presented as a picture than
data presented as a table. This is especially true if the viewers have little or no knowledge of
statistics. The charts include among others bar pictogram, bar chart (component and
combine), pie chart, histogram and frequency polygon.

Purposes of statistical charts

 To convey the data to the viewers in pictorial form
 To describe the data set
 To analyze the data set (Distribution of data set)
 To summarize a data set
 To discover a trend or pattern in a situation over a period of time
 To get the viewers’ attention in a publication or speaking presentation

Pictogram
This involves the use of pictures or diagrams to represent groups of numerical data. This is
done such that a single picture or diagram represents a specified number of scores, items or
objects. This is widely used by journalists newspapers advertiser to show the relationship
between variables.

Bar Chart
The bar chart or bar diagram or bar graph involves using rectangular bars of equal breadth
and different heights or lengths to represent the table. The bar chart has two axes, which are
the frequency axis or the vertical axis and the observation axis or the horizontal axis. The
height of each bar is proportional to the frequency.

In constructing a bar chart, note the following:-

i. Bars do not touch each other because the variables are discrete and the classes are not
comparable in terms of magnitude. Bar graphs are used for presentation of discreet
data.
ii. No bar can touch the lines of the frequency axis.
iii. The unit of measurement on the horizontal axis is not important. So bars are equally
spaced and are of equal width on the horizontal axis.
Example

Bar Chart of Subjects in Treatment Groups

Frequency

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3
Treatment Group

Pie Chart

Pie chart is a circle divided into sections to represent a represent the statistical data, such that
the data placed in each sectors is proportional to the frequencies.
To do so,
1 Sum up the given frequencies (data)
2 Divide each frequency by the total and multiply by 360o
3 Each angle obtained will be used to draw a sector starting from an arbitrary radius.
4 The sum of the angles will be 360o and will correspond to the total frequency

Histogram
Histogram is a bar graph frequency distribution in which the bars are not separated because
the data under consideration are continuous data; therefore, the continuity is shown at the
base of the rectangles. Histogram is constructed by plotting the frequencies against the scores
or class boundaries of corresponding class intervals.
Class boundaries, mark the limits of a class interval or group. A class interval or group has
two class boundaries:- the upper class boundary and the lower class boundary. For the group
62- 67 for instance, the upper class boundary is 67 and the lower class boundary is 62. In the
histogram real limits are used for construction. The real lower limit is 61.5 and the real upper
limit is 67.5. To do so, take the mean of the upper and lower class limit of the two successive
classes.
To plot the graph;

i. Draw the vertical and horizontal axes (Better drawn using graph papers where the
lines are already drawn).
ii. Mark the real class boundaries along the horizontal axis or the score axis.
iii. Mark the frequencies along the vertical axis.
iv. Construct the bars for each class boundary with a height corresponding to the
frequencies.
Example

Histogram Showing Ages in Months

Number of Subjects

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
40 60 80 100 120 140 More
Age in Month

Frequency Polygon
The polygon is a line graph which uses the frequencies against the class marks or the mid
points of the class intervals. It is a graph joining the points of intersection between the two
points marked or shown by asterisk or dots. These points are joined with straight lines which
are made to rest on the horizontal axis. It can also be plotted on a histogram, by plotting
against the middle of the triangles then join the points accordingly.
Cumulative frequency Curve (Ogive)
The cumulative frequency curve which is otherwise called Ogive is a graph of the cumulative
frequencies against the scores or the real exact limits of the class interval. The points of
contact represent the cumulative frequencies at the exact upper limits of the intervals.

Cumulative frequency Curve

80
70
Cumulative Frequency

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Class Boundaries

Worked Example
1 The table below shows the shoe sizes of students of STA 111 in the BASIC HEALTH
SCIENCE Faculty at AUSU
Shoe Size 37 38 39 40 41 42 43
No of Students 5 4 8 10 11 8 4

Illustrate the information using

a) Bar Chart
b) Line graph
c) Pie Chart

Solution

A Bar Chart Showing the sizes of students in STA 111

Class
15
Frequency

10
5
0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43
Shoe Sizes
 A line Graph Showing the Shoe Sizes of Students in STA
111 Class
12
11
10 10
8 8 8
Frequency

6
5
4 4 4
2
0
37 38 39 40 41 42 43
Shoe Sizes

A pie Chart Showing the Shoe Sizes

of Students of STA 111
1
1; 15%
7; 43; 37; 13%
2
3
4
2; 38; 14% 5
6; 42; 15%
6
7
3; 39; 14%
5; 41; 15%
4; 40; 14%

2 The table below shows the frequency distribution of grades obtained by candidates in
an aptitude test
Grades F E D C B A
Number of Candidates 15 28 45 26 14 12

a) Present the information by means of a bar chart.

b) How many candidates passed the test if the pass grade is :-
(i) D? (ii) E?
Solution

A Bar chart showing the grades obtained by Students in STA

111 test
50
Number of Students

40
30
20
10
0
F E D C B A
Grades
 b (i) With D as pass mark, the candidates that pass are 17
(ii) With E as pass mark, the candidates that passed are 25
3 The numbers below represent the number of times sanitary inspectors visited
households in one settlement within 50 days.

72 60 70 53 61 64 5 61 75 58
7
54 64 61 54 77 63 5 62 54 58
7
50 60 58 51 64 59 6 67 52 65
3
a) 68 69 71 59 78 57 7 63 56 68 Construct a group
2 frequency table
64 74 55 75 53 65 5 72 54 69 with class
6 intervals 50-54,
55-59, 60-64, ..etc to represent the data .
b) Plot a Histogram from the grouped distribution.

Solution
a)
Buyers Tally Mark frequency
50 -54 IIII IIII 9
55 -59 IIII IIII I 11
60 -64 IIII IIII III 13
65 -69 IIII I 6
70 -74 IIII I 6
75 -79 IIII 5
50

b)

A Histogram Showing customers that purchased goods from one supermarket

15 within 50 days.

10

5 0 -54 55-59 60 -64 65- 69 70-74 75-79