Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Applied Marketing (Market Research Methods) Topic 7: Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations
Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Overview

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Once data have been collected and prepared for analysis, basic analysis should be conducted Typical forms include frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Often market research projects do not go beyond basic data analysis However, such univariate and bivariate analyses guide multivariate analysis

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Frequency distribution

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association

In a frequency distribution, one variable is considered at a time, i.e. a univariate analysis A frequency distribution for a variable produces a table of frequency counts, percentages and cumulative percentages for all the values associated with that variable

Cross-tabulation

Frequency distribution of familiarity with the Internet

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Very unfamiliar (1) Unfamiliar (2) Neutral (3) Familiar (4) Very familiar (5) Total

Frequency (Count) 2 14 22 56 106 200

Percentage 1 7 11 28 53 100

Cumulative percentage 1 8 19 47 100

Desciptive statistics associated with frequency distributions

Usual descriptive statistics can be calculated These include measures of location (mean, median, mode) and measures of dispersion (variance, standard deviation, etc.) The coefcient of variation is the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean expressed as a percentage, and is a unitless measure of relative variability S CV = X

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Types of Variable
Later in the course we will deal with measurable variables For now we restrict attention to categorical variables Examples include:
(i) the number of vegetarians who support Party X (ii) the number of diners at a restaurant who were dissatised / indifferent / satised with the service

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

If we can arrange things in a sensible order then we have ordinal (categorical) variables If not, then we have nominal (categorical) variables

Correlation and association

To determine whether two measurable variables are related, we discuss correlation Correlation measures the strength of the (linear) relationship between two variables However, for categorical variables, we discuss association This will require frequency data Here we examine the existence of association rather than its strength

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Cross-tabulation

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association

While a frequency distribution describes one variable at a time, a cross-tabulation describes two or more variables simultaneously Cross-tabulation results in tables that reect the joint distribution of two or more variables with a limited number of categories or distinct values

Cross-tabulation

Gender and Internet usage

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Internet usage Light (1) Heavy (2) Column total

Gender Male Female 50 100 100 50 150 150

Row total 150 150

Two variables cross-tabulation

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable

Since two variables have been cross-classied, percentages could be computed either column-wise, based on column totals, or row-wise, based on row totals The general rule is to compute the percentages in the direction of the independent variable, across the dependent variable

Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Internet usage by gender

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Internet usage Light (1) Heavy (2) Column total

Gender Male Female 33.3% 66.7% 66.7% 33.3% 100% 100%

Gender by Internet usage

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Internet usage Light (1) Heavy (2)

Gender Male Female 33.3% 66.7% 66.7% 33.3%

Row total 100% 100%

The introduction of a third variable in cross-tabulation

Using just two (categorical) variables we would either conclude that there is no association, or that there is some association between them However, by introducing a third variable we may reach any of the following conclusions:
Rene the association between the original variables Determine that the original association is in fact spurious Detect suppressed association by introducing a third variable Make no change in our original conclusions

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Purchase of designer clothing by relationship status

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Amount of designer clothing purchased A lot Not a lot

Marital status Married Single 30% 55% 70% 45%

Rening the association with a third variable

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

55% of single respondents fell in the A lot category, as opposed to 30% of the married respondents Before concluding that single respondents purchase more designer clothing than those who are married, a third variable, the buyers gender, was introduced into the analysis

Purchase of designer clothing by marital status and gender

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Amount of designer clothing purchased A lot Not a lot

Gender Male Married Single 35% 40% 65% 60% Female Married Single 20% 65% 80% 35%

Rening the association with a third variable

For females, 65% of single women fall in the A lot category, as compared to 20% of those who are married However, the percentages are much closer for males, with 40% of single men and 35% of married men falling in the A lot category Hence, the introduction of gender (third variable) has rened the relationship between marital status and purchase of designer clothing (original variables) Single respondents are more likely to fall in the A lot category than married respondents, and this effect is much more pronounced for females than for males

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Ownership of sports cars by education level

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Own sports car Yes No

Education Graduate Non-graduate 30% 20% 70% 80%

Ownership of sports cars by education level

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

This shows that 30% of graduates own a sports car, compared with 20% of non-graduates Realising that income may also be a factor, the researcher decided to re-examine the relationship between education and ownership of sports cars taking income into account

Ownership of sports cars by education and income levels

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Own sports car Yes No

Income level Graduate 20% 80% Low Non-graduate 20% 80% Graduate 40% 60% High Non-graduate 40% 60%

Uncovering spurious association

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution

The percentages of graduates and non-graduates who own sports cars are the same for each of the income groups When the data for the high-income and low-income groups are examined separately, the association between education and ownership of sports cars disappears, indicating that the initial relationship observed between these two variables was spurious

Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Using three variables to reveal suppressed association

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable

Want to travel abroad Yes No

Age Under 50 50 and above 50% 50% 50% 50%

Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

We see no association between wanting to travel abroad and age However, by introducing gender as a third variable, we obtain the following table

Wanting to travel abroad by age and gender

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Want to travel abroad Yes No

Gender Under 50 70% 30% Male 50 and above 30% 70% Female Under 50 50 and above 20% 80% 80% 20%

Using three variables to reveal suppressed association

Among men, 70% of those under 50 indicated they want to travel abroad, compared with 30% of those 50 or older The pattern was reversed for women, where 20% of those under 50 indicated they want to travel abroad as opposed to 80% of those 50 or older Since the association between wanting to travel abroad and age runs in the opposite direction for males and females, the relationship between these two variables is masked when the data are aggregated across gender But when the effect of gender is controlled, the suppressed association between desire to travel abroad and age is revealed for the separate categories of males and females

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Eating frequently in fast-food restaurants by family size

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution Types of Variable

Consider the cross-tabulation of family size and the tendency to eat out frequently in fast-food restaurants no association is observed Visit fast-food restaurants frequently Yes No Family size Small Large 60% 60% 40% 40%

Correlation and association Cross-tabulation

Eating frequently in fast-food restaurants by family size and income

Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations Dr James Abdey

Overview Frequency distribution

Introducing income as a third variable in the analysis; again, no association is observed No change in initial relationship Visit fast-food restaurants frequently Yes No Income Low High Small Large Small Large 60% 60% 60% 40% 40% 40% 40% 40%

Types of Variable Correlation and association Cross-tabulation