STA 111 - GENERAL STATISTICS

Module Three - Measure of Centre/Location

MRS. VICTORIA E. LAOYE

Department of Statistics,
University of Ibadan

14th March, 2024

 An Overview of the Lecture

At the end this lecture, you should be able to:

q compute and interpret mean (Arithmetic, Goemetric and Harmonic means)

q compute and interpret median

q compute and interpret mode

q establish the differences between ungrouped and grouped data category

 Introduction

We have hitherto been concerned with the collection of data and presentation of such data
in tables and diagrams. Our aim has been to describe populations, compare them and make
general statements about them on the basis of available data. So far, we have partially
achieved this aim by studying the many features shown by the tables and diagrams.
 Introduction Cont’d
In this study, we shall be concerned about how to derive information from the data such
as:

v the average (mean) of observations

v the median of observations

v the mode of observations

v and deriving all these measures for both Grouped and Ungrouped data or observations.

v interpreting the results of each of these measures of location in respect of the

observations given.
 Measure of Location
Measures of location help to identify where all the data are concentrated or centred or
clustered.

They are also referred to as measures of central tendency, averages or representative

values.

Consider the sum of variables say �� , �ℎ�� � = 1,2, . . . , �, �� ℎ���:

�� = �1 + �2 + . . . + �� (1)
�=1
 Measure of Location Cont’d
Arithmetic Means

q The arithmetic mean (or simply the mean) of a set of observations is the sum of all the
observations divided by the number of observations.

• The mean of a set of n observations �1 , �2 , . . . , �� is usually denoted by �

Ungrouped Data:

q For example: The ages of 10 Senior Secondary School (SSS) students in college A are:
14, 15, 16, 16, 17, 17, 22, 22, 22, 22. Find the average age of the students.

�
�
�=1 � �1 + �2 + . . . + �� 14 + 15 + . . . + 22
= = = 18.3
� � 10
 Measure of Location Cont’d
Ungrouped data Cont’d Mean for frequency data

q In this case, there is no use of Class interval. The idea behind this method is to reduce
the values or observations by counting the number of times an observation occurs and
put in frequency form. See Example in Table 1 below:

• Table 1: Ungrouped Data - Frequency Table

Mark Tally Frequency
4 II 2
5 II 2
6 IIII 4
7 IIII 5
8 IIII 4
9 II 2
10 I 1
 Measure of Location Cont’d
Ungrouped Data Cont’d – Mean for Frequency Data Cont’d

• Hence, the mean of the observations above (Table 1) is:

�
��
�=1 � � (4 × 2) + (5 × 2) + . . . + (9 × 2) + (10 × 1)
� = = 6.85
�
�=1 �
20

• Generally, this method is the same for calculating the mean of grouped data. The only
difference is that, we do not classify the observations into Classes. You will learn how
to compute the mean of group data in the next section.
 Measure of Location Cont’d

• Grouped Data – Mean for Frequency Data Cont’d

• Consider the following frequency distribution table in which the ’x’

values have been grouped into intervals.

• Without the knowledge of the original data, we may wish to calculate

the mean from the frequency table. And the formular is given as;
� �

�� �� �� (2)
�=1 �=1
 Frequency Table Classification Terms
• Class intervals - is the description of the class that has both the upper class limit
and lower class limit. A class that does not have either an upper and lower limit is
called an open- ended class.

• Class limits - A class is bounded by a lower limit and an upper limit. The class
limits can be defined in either of the following methods:

Ø Exclusive Method: In this method, the upper limit of a class is taken to be equal to
the lower limit of the following class. In order to keep various class intervals
mutually exclusive, the observations with magnitude greater than or equal to lower
limit but less than the upper limit of a class are included in it.
 Frequency Table Classification Terms Cont’d
• Inclusive Method:- In this method, all the observations with magnitude greater
than or equal to the lower limit but less than or equal to the upper limit of a class is
included in it.

• Class boundaries: - can be described as a point that represents the halfway, or

dividing point between successive classes. It is a point where the lower class ends
and the higher class begins.

• Class mark: - is defined as the midpoint of a class interval. It is sometimes

described as the arithmetic average of the two class limits (that is, the lower limit
and the upper limit). It is computed by adding the lower and upper class limits of a
class interval and then dividing by 2.
(����� ���������� + ����� ����������)
����� ���� =
 Frequency Table Classification Terms Cont’d
• Class size: - is the difference between the upper and lower class boundaries. It is
also called class magnitude or length or width of a class and is denoted by‘ ”c”.

• Class frequency: - is the number of observations that fall in a class.

• Relative frequency: - the relative frequency of a class is the frequency of the class
divided by the total frequency (the sum of all the frequencies of a given table).

• Cumulative frequency: - is the total frequency of all values less than or equal to
the upper class boundary of a given class interval.

• Cumulative relative frequency: - The cumulative relative frequency, or

percentage cumulative frequency is the cumulative frequency divided by the total
 Example of Frequency Table Cont’d
Table 4: Frequency Table with Some Terms

Score Frequency Cummulative

Frequency

5 2 2

6 3 5

7 2 7

8 2 9

9 1 10

10 1 11
 Example of Frequency Table Cont’d
Table 5: Frequency Table with Some Terms
Class Upper Class Lower Class Class Class Lower Upper Class
Interval Limits Limits Size Mark Class Boundaries
Boundaries
41 - 50 41 50 10 45.5 40.5 50.5

51 - 60 51 60 10 55.5 50.5 60.5

61 - 70 61 70 10 65.5 60.5 70.5

71 - 80 71 80 10 75.5 70.5 80.5

 Example of Frequency Table Cont’d
Table 6: Frequency Table with some terms
Degree Frequency Relative Frequency Percentage
High School 2 0.050 5.0
Bachelor’s 7 0.175 17.5
MBA 20 0.500 50.0
Master’s 3 0.075 7.5
Law 4 0.100 10
PhD 4 0.100 10
TOTAL 40
Steps for constructing a frequency distribution table from raw data
• Find the range of the data, that is, the difference between highest and smallest
observations.

• Determine the number of classes by dividing the range into a convenient number of
class intervals having the same size. The number of class intervals is usually taken
between 5 and 20 depending on the size of the data.

• The length of a class or class interval is determined by the number of classes and the
range of the data, that is, we divide the range by the number of classes chosen in (2).
But ideally we should have the number that is easy to work with e.g. 1, 2, 5, 20, etc.
Steps for constructing a frequency distribution table from raw data

• Class intervals are also chosen so that the classmarks or midpoints coincide with actual
observed data. This tends to lessen the so called grouping error involved in further
statistical analysis.

• Determine the number of observations falling into each class interval, that is, find the
class frequencies. This is best done by using tally or score sheet.

• Classes should not overlap and there should be no gap.

• Although tabulation is a very good technique to present the data, diagram presents a
clear picture of the data/table at a glance.
 Diagram Presentation
• Diagrams prove nothing, but bring outstanding features readily to the
eye; they are therefore no substitute for such critical tests as may be
applied to the data, but are valuable in suggesting such tests, and in
explaining the conclusions founded upon them. - Sir Roynald Fisher
 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
• Some Types of Diagrams
• Line Diagrams
• Bar Diagrams
• We have:
• ⇒ Simple Bar Chart
• ⇒ Component Bar Chart
• ⇒ Multiple Bar Charts
• Picture Diagrams
• Circle Diagram (Pie Diagram)
• Statistical Maps
 Diagram Presentation Cont’d

• Some Types of Diagrams Cont’d

• Frequency diagrams (graphs)
• we have:
• ⇒ Histograms
• ⇒ Frequency polygon
• ⇒ Cumulative frequency curve (Ogive)
• ⇒ Stem-and-Leaf Plot
• ⇒ Box plots
Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Line Diagram

Figure 1: Line Diagram

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Bar Diagram - Simple BarChart

Figure 2: Simple Bar Chart

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Bar Diagram - Multiple BarChart

Figure 3: Multiple Bar Chart

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Bar Diagram - Component BarChart

Figure 4: Component Bar Chart

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Picture Diagram - Circle/Pie Chart

Figure 5: Pie Chart/Diagram

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Picture Diagram - Statistical Map
 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Frequency Diagram - Histogram

Figure 7: Histogram Plot

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Frequency Diagram - O-give

Figure 8: Cummulative Frequency Plot (O-give)

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Frequency Diagram - Frequency Polygon

Figure 9: Frequency Polygon

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Frequency Diagram - Stem & Leaf

Figure 9: Stem and Leaf

 Diagram Presentation Cont’d
Example of Frequency Diagram - Box Plot

Figure 11: Box Plot

Q&A

Q&A