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Frequency
Distributions
4
D
escriptive statistics is nothing more than a fancy term for numbers that
summarize a group of data. These data may be the number of arrests each
police officer makes, the amount of garbage collected by city work crews,
the number of fund-raising events held by a nonprofit organization in a year, the
number of volunteers assisting a government agency, the number of high school
students participating in community service projects, or the size of various gov-
ernment agencies (measured by personnel or budget). In their unsummarized or
nontabulated form, data (affectionately known as raw data) are difficult to com-
prehend. For example, the list below gives the number of tons of trash collected
by the Normal, Oklahoma, sanitary engineer teams for the week of June 8, 2011.
Each entry is the number of tons of trash collected by a team during the week.
57 70 62 66 68 62 76 71 79 87
82 63 71 51 65 78 61 78 55 64
83 75 50 70 61 69 80 51 52 94
89 63 82 75 58 68 84 83 71 79
77 89 59 88 97 86 75 95 64 65
53 74 75 61 86 65 95 77 73 86
81 66 73 51 75 64 67 54 54 78
57 81 65 72 59 72 84 85 79 67
62 76 52 92 66 74 72 83 56 93
96 64 95 94 86 75 73 72 85 94
Clearly, presenting these data in their raw form would tell the administrator lit-
tle or nothing about trash collection in Normal. For example, how many tons
of trash do most teams collect? Do the teams seem to collect about the same
amount, or does their performance vary?
The most basic restructuring of raw data to facilitate understanding is the
frequency distribution. A frequency distribution is a table that pairs data
valuesor ranges of data valueswith their frequency of occurrence. For exam-
ple, Table 4.1 is a frequency distribution of the number of arrests each Morgan
City police officer made in March 2011. Note that the entire table is labeled, as is
each column. Here, the data values are the number of arrests, and the frequencies
61
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62 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
Table 4.1 Arrests per Police Ofcer: Morgan City, March 2011
15 6
610 17
1115 47
1620 132
2125 35
251 7
244
are the number of police officers. This procedure makes it easy to see that most
Morgan City police officers made between 16 and 20 arrests in March 2011.
Some definitions are in order. A variable is the trait or characteristic on
which the classification is based; in the preceding example, the variable is the
number of arrests per police officer. A class is one of the grouped categories of
the variable. The first class, for example, is from 1 to 5 arrests. Classes have class
boundaries (the lowest and highest values that fall within the class) and class
midpoints (the point halfway between the upper and lower class boundaries).
The class midpoint of the third class, for example, is 13which is 11, the lower
class boundary, plus 15, the upper class boundary, divided in half (by 2), or
(11 1 15) 4 2. The class interval is the distance between the upper limit of one
class and the upper limit of the next higher class. In our example, the class inter-
val is 5. The class frequency is the number of observations or occurrences of the
variable within a given class; for example, the class frequency of the fourth class
(1620) is 132. The total frequency is the total number of observations or cases
in the tablein this case, 244. In the remainder of this chapter, we will discuss
some important characteristics of frequency distributions and the procedures for
constructing them.
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Constructing a Frequency Distribution 63
Step 2: List all the values from the lowest to the highest and then mark the
number of times each value appears. This process is illustrated below.
50 / 60 70 // 80 / 90
51 /// 61 /// 71 /// 81 // 91
52 // 62 /// 72 //// 82 // 92 /
53 / 63 // 73 /// 83 /// 93 /
54 // 64 //// 74 // 84 // 94 ///
55 / 65 //// 75 ///// 85 // 95 ///
56 / 66 /// 76 // 86 //// 96 /
57 // 67 // 77 // 87 / 97 /
58 / 68 // 78 /// 88 / 98
59 // 69 / 79 /// 89 //
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64 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
but not including 60 tons (that is, 59.999 tons). In this way, no data value can
fall into more than one class. When you see tables like this one, in which interval
limits appear to overlap, remember that the upper limit means up to but not in-
cluding the value, and that the lower limit begins with this value. Tables 4.3 and
4.4 are constructed in the same manner.
Numbers of Crews
Tons of Garbage Normal Moore
5060 16 22
6070 24 37
7080 30 49
8090 20 36
90100 10 21
100 165
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Cumulative Frequency Distributions 65
workforce, it has a larger number of crews in all five of the classes. The data must
be converted so that the two cities can be compared.
The easiest way to make the data comparable is to convert both columns of data
into percentage distributions. A percentage distribution shows the percentage of
the total observations that fall into each class. To convert the data of Table 4.3
to percentage distributions, the frequency in each class should be divided by the
total frequency for that city. In this instance, all Normal class frequencies should
be divided by 100, and all Moore class frequencies should be divided by 165.
(Chapter 15 presents a more detailed discussion of percentage distributions.)
Table 4.4 shows the resulting percentage distributions. Is the Moore method of
trash collection more efficient than the method used in Normal?
Table 4.4 pairs each class with the percentage that class constitutes of
all observations. Note that some new items are included in the percentage
distribution table that were not included in the frequency distribution table. At
the bottom of each column, a number is found (N 5 100 or N 5 165). N stands
for the total number of observations; it represents the total frequency (or number
of observations) on which the percentages are based. Given this number, you
can calculate the original class frequencies. Try it. You should get the frequency
distributions shown in Table 4.3.
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66 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
responding. Because the Metro fire department automatically records the time of
fire calls on its computer and also records the dispatched fire trucks report that
it has arrived at the fire, the response times to all fires are available. An analyst
has made a frequency distribution of these response times (Table 4.5). The Metro
fire chief considers 5 minutes to be an excellent response time, 10 minutes to be
an acceptable response time, 15 minutes to be an unsatisfactory response time,
and 20 minutes to be unacceptable. As a result, the fire chief wants to know the
percentage of fire calls answered in under 5 minutes, under 10 minutes, under
15 minutes, and under 20 minutes. To provide the fire chief with the informa-
tion she wants, the analyst must construct a cumulative percentage distribution.
The first step in developing a cumulative percentage distribution is to pre-
pare a running total of responses to fire calls. To the right of the Number of Calls
column in Table 4.5, you will find a blank column labeled Running Total. In
this column, we will calculate the total number of responses made that were less
than each intervals upper limit. For example, how many fires were responded to
in less than 1 minute? From the table, we can see seven fires had response times
of under a minute. Enter the number 7 for the first class in the Running Total
column. How many fire responses were under 2 minutes? There were 21, with
7 under 1 minute, plus 14 between 1 and 2 minutes. Enter 21 as the value for the
second class. Using this logic, fill in the rest of the values in Table 4.5.
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Graphical Presentations 67
Percentage (Cumulative) of
Response Time Response Times
Under 5 minutes 27.6
Under 10 minutes 82.4
Under 15 minutes 98.8
Under 20 minutes 100.00
N 5 500
Graphical Presentations
Often a public or nonprofit administrator wants to present information visually
so that leaders, citizens, and staff can get a general feel for a problem without
reading a table. Two methods of visual presentation will be described here: the
frequency polygon and the histogram.
Let us say that the Normal city manager, as part of her budget justification,
wants to show the city council the number of complaints that the city animal
control office receives about barking dogs. An assistant has prepared the frequency
distribution shown in Table 4.7.
To construct a frequency polygon, follow these steps.
Step 1: On a sheet of graph paper, write the name of the variable across the bot-
tom and the frequency along the side. Here, the variable is the number
of complaints about dogs, and the frequency is the number of weeks.
See Figure 4.1.
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68 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
59 7
1014 6
1519 15
2024 17
2529 5
3034 2
52
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
Step 2: Calculate the midpoint for each class interval. Add the two boundar-
ies for each class and divide by 2. For the first class, the midpoint is
(5 1 9) 4 2, or 7. The midpoints for the other classes are 12, 17, 22,
27, 32.
Step 3: On the horizontal dimension or axis of the graph, find the first class
midpoint (7). Directly above this point, mark the frequency for this
class (also 7) with a dot. Repeat this procedure for the five other classes.
Your graph should look like the one in Figure 4.2.
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Graphical Presentations 69
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
Step 4: Calculate the midpoint for the class below the lowest class observed
(this class would be 04 complaints) and for the class above the highest
class observed (3539). Plot these midpoints with a frequency of 0 on
your graph (i.e., on the horizontal axis).
Step 5: Draw a line connecting the points in sequence. Your first fre-
quency polygon should look like the one in Figure 4.3. (Note that
whereas the frequency polygon presents a useful visual representa-
tion of the data, the line segments do not correspond to actual
data points.)
One nice aspect of frequency polygons is that the analyst can draw more
than one on the same graph. For example, suppose that the Normal city
manager wants to show how complaints about barking dogs have changed
over time. The city manager gives you the data shown in Table 4.8. In
Figure 4.4, graph frequency polygons for both years on the same graph. What
does the graph tell you about barking dog complaints in 2011 as opposed to
those in 2010?
Note: Whenever two or more frequency polygons are drawn on the same set
of axes, each polygon should be drawn in a different color or with a different type
of line (such as solid, broken, bold) so the reader can tell them apart. Be sure to
label each line. Figure 6.1 in Chapter 6 illustrates using different types of lines on
the same set of axes.
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70 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
Table 4.8 Complaints per Week about Barking Dogs, 2010 and 2011
Number of Weeks
A histogram is a bar graph for a variable that takes on many values (such
as income or gross national product [GNP]). The term bar chart is sometimes
used when a variable can take only a very limited set of values (for example, a
variable assessing an opinion that calls for the responses agree, undecided,
or disagree). Our intention is not to multiply terms (or confusion), but some
statistical package programs loaded onto computers, such as the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), do make this distinction. You may need
to use SPSS in class or on the job.
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Graphical Presentations 71
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2010 and 2011
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72 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
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Graphical Presentations 73
80
60
40
20
0 5 10 15 20
Number of Minutes
Percentage (Cumulative) of
Response Time Response Times
Under 5 minutes 21.2
Under 10 minutes 63.9
Under 15 minutes 86.4
Under 20 minutes 100.0
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74 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
Chapter Summary
Descriptive statistics summarize a body of raw data so that the data can be more
easily understood. Frequency distributions, percentage distributions, and cumula-
tive frequency distributions are three ways to condense raw data into a table that is
easier to read and interpret. A frequency distribution displays the number of times
each value, or range of values, of a variable occurs. The frequency distribution shows
classes appropriate for the variable under study and the number of data points falling
into each class. A percentage distribution shows the percentage of total data points
that fall into each class. A cumulative frequency (or percentage) distribution displays
the number (or percentage) of observations that fall above or below a certain class.
To add visual appeal and increase interpretability, graphical presentations
of data are used. Graphical techniques discussed in this chapter include the fre-
quency polygon, the histogram and bar chart, and the ogive. The frequency poly-
gon is a plot of the frequency distribution information (class versus frequency),
with the plotted points connected in sequence by line segments. The histogram is
a bar graph of a frequency distribution; each class is represented by a horizontal
bar, and its frequency corresponds to the height of the bar from the horizontal
axis. The term bar chart is sometimes used in place of histogram when the variable
can take on only a very limited set of values. An ogive is a frequency polygon for
a cumulative frequency distribution.
Problems
4.1 You are the research assistant to the administrator of a small bureau in the federal
government. Your boss has received some criticism that the bureau does not respond
promptly to congressional requests. The only information you have is the day the
agency received the request and the day the agency mailed the response. From those
figures, you have calculated the number of days the agency took to respond.
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Problems 75
Do the following:
(a) Prepare the frequency distribution.
(b) Present the distribution graphically.
(c) Prepare a cumulative frequency distribution.
(d) Present the cumulative distribution graphically.
(e) Write a paragraph explaining what you have found.
4.2 Allan Wiese, the mayor of Orva, South Dakota, feels that the productivity of
meter butlers has declined in the past year. Mayor Wieses research assistant
provides him with the accompanying data. Convert the frequency distributions
to comparable distributions. What can you tell Mayor Wiese about the produc-
tivity of his meter butlers?
Number of Butlers
2130 5 6
3140 7 9
4150 9 12
5160 5 7
6170 3 1
29 35
4.3 Scotty Allen, the civil service director for Maxwell, New York, compiles the
accompanying frequency distribution of scores on the Maxwell civil service
exam. Construct a cumulative frequency distribution and a cumulative frequency
polygon for Mr. Allen.
4.4 The incumbent governor of a large state is campaigning on the platform that he
eliminated a great many large, do-nothing bureaucracies. As the research assis-
tant for the challenger, you are asked to present the accompanying data (numbers
are the size of bureaus eliminated under the incumbent and under his predeces-
sor) graphically in the manner most favorable for the challenger.
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76 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
Incumbent Predecessor
6 16 15
14 5 28
7 3 48
3 7 104
24 19 37
6 21 56
3 12 15
1 4 6
2 3 3
21 6 27
41 1 39
4.5 Refer to Problem 4.4. Construct a frequency distribution, and present it to reflect
favorably on the incumbent.
4.6 The city clerk has received numerous complaints over the past year that couples
applying for a marriage license have to wait too long to receive one. Although the
clerk is skeptical (couples applying for a license are usually young and impatient),
she pulls a representative sample of marriage licenses issued in the past year.
Because a machine stamps each license application with the time the application
is received and the time it is issued, she can tell how long the young (and old)
lovers had to wait for the marriage license. The clerk considers service received in
less than 10 minutes good and service received in less than 15 minutes acceptable.
Her tabulation of the license data shows the following:
Prepare the percentage distribution for the marriage license data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum explaining the results
and addressing the issue of whether couples have to wait too long for marriage
licenses.
4.7 The city clerk from Problem 4.6 is intrigued by the findings of her survey of
marriage licenses issued in the past year (data analysis often has this effect).
Accordingly, she decides to pull another representative sample of marriage
licenses, this time from 2 years ago. She is interested in determining whether
service to the public from her unit has improved or declined over the past
2 years. As before, the clerk considers service received in less than 10 minutes
good and service received in less than 15 minutes acceptable. Her tabulation of
the sample of marriage licenses issued 2 years ago shows the following:
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Problems 77
Prepare the percentage distribution for the marriage license data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum explaining the results
and addressing the question of whether service to the public from her unit has
improved or declined over the past 2 years.
4.8 Because of cutbacks in agency funding, the United Way of Megopolis has had
to forgo routine maintenance of its computer terminals for the past 5 years.
(The equipment is made by the Indestructible Computer Company.) The head
of the agency is concerned that the agency will face a major equipment crisis
this year, because the recommended maintenance schedule for the terminals is
once every 3 years. Over the past 5 years, the agency has been able to purchase
new terminals. In an effort to obtain more funding from the state legislature, the
agency chief compiles the following data. The data show the time since the last
routine maintenance of the terminal or, if the terminal was purchased in the last
2 years, the time since the terminal was purchased.
Prepare the percentage distribution for the terminal maintenance data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum both explaining the
results and trying to convince the state legislature to provide funding for routine
maintenance of computer terminals.
4.9 Assume that you are a staff analyst working for the head of the United Way of
Megopolis in Problem 4.8. Write a short memorandum both explaining the
results of the data tabulation in Problem 4.8 and trying to convince the agency
head that the equipment crisis at the agency is overblown.
4.10 The local humane society is concerned about available space for impounded ani-
mals. The agency keeps careful count of the number of animals it shelters each
day. To determine the load on the agency, its head, Anna Trueheart, selects a
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78 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
representative sample of days from the last 2 years and records the number of
animals impounded on each day. Her data appear as follows:
65 49 84 72 43 91
57 46 77 69 90 64
85 67 52 44 95 79
48 63 55 96 75 48
88 81 93 67 58 72
51 49 96 79 73 80
65 54 86 98 42 63
92 71 79 84 59 45
Prepare the frequency and percentage distributions for the animal impound-
ment data and the appropriate graphical displays for Ms. Trueheart. Write a short
memorandum explaining both the results and the demands on the humane soci-
ety to shelter animals.
4.11 The director of the state Department of Public Works wants to upgrade the de-
partments automobile fleet; she claims that the fleet is too old. The governor
appoints a staff analyst to investigate the issue. The analyst compiles data on both
the age and the odometer readings (mileage) of the departments automobile
fleet. Her data appear as follows:
Prepare percentage distributions for the age and mileage data and the appropriate
graphical displays. Write a short memorandum to the governor both explaining
the results and making a recommendation regarding whether the departments
automobile fleet should be upgraded.
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