Statistical Measures
Frequency Distribution
Don't get too worried by the term. As you would see in a bit, a Frequency Distribution is simply grouping data and showing it in a table.
Let's say you go around the neighborhood and conduct a survey. You make a note of how many people stay in each household. The following numbers are just that.
The number of people in each household across 25 households.
2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3, 4, 6, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 3, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 4
Look at the data above and try to answer the following:
- what is the most common number among these?
- what is the second most common number?
- what is the least common one?
Look at the table below and proceed with the explanation that follows.
| Number of Members | Count of Households |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 1 |
| Total | 25 |
Answering those questions must have been tedious. It's not very difficult, but it is painful.
How about answering these questions by looking at the table instead?
- what is the most common number among these?
- with a count of 8, a response '3' clearly stands out here.
- what is the second most common number?
- with a count of 6, a response '4' would be the answer.
- what is the least common one?
- with a count of just 1, a response '7' is the choice for this.
Do you see how easy it is to answer the same questions after the data has been organized in a table?
The term 'Frequency Distribution' may sound like a fancy word, but it is just a table view of the raw data. This view helps your reader to make their impressions without much effort quickly.