Chapter Two

2. Methods of Data Collection and Presentation

2.1. Methods of Data Collection
Any scientific investigation requires data related to the study. The required data can be obtained
from either a primary source or a secondary source.
There are two sources of data:
1. Primary Data
 Data measured or collect by the investigator or the user directly from the source.
 Two activities involved: planning and measuring.
a) Planning:
 Identify source and elements of the data.
 Decide whether to consider sample or census.
 If sampling is preferred, decide on sample size, selection method,
… etc
 Decide measurement procedure.
 Set up the necessary organizational structure.
b) Measuring: there are different options.
 Focus Group
 Telephone Interview
 Mail Questionnaires
 Door-to-Door Survey
 Mall Intercept
 New Product Registration
 Personal Interview and
 Experiments are some of the sources for collecting the primary
data.
2. Secondary Data: are individuals or agencies, which supply data originally collected for
other purposes by them or others.
 Data gathered or compiled from published and unpublished sources or files.
 When our source is secondary data check that:
 The type and objective of the situations.
 The purpose for which the data are collected and compatible with
the present problem.
 The nature and classification of data is appropriate to our problem.
 There are no biases and misreporting in the published data.
Note: Data which are primary for one may be secondary for the other.

2.2. Methods of Data Presentation

After having the collected and edited the data, the next important step is to organize it. That is to
present it in a readily comprehensible condensed form that aids in order to draw inferences from
it. It is also necessary that the like be separated from the unlike ones.

The presentation of data is broadly classified in to the following two categories:

 Tabular presentation
  Diagrammatic and Graphic presentation.

The process of arranging data in to classes or categories according to similarities or differences is

called classification.

Classification is a preliminary and it prepares the ground for proper presentation of data.

1. Tabular Presentation (Frequency distribution )

Definitions:

 Raw data: is a data which is collected in original form (survey), whether it may be
counts or measurements.
 Frequency: is the number of values in a specific class of the distribution.
 Frequency distribution: is the organization of raw data in table form using classes and
frequencies.

Example: A frequency distribution presenting the number of males and females in a class

Sex Frequency
Male 57
Female 39

There are three basic types of frequency distributions

 Categorical frequency distribution

 Ungrouped frequency distribution
 Grouped frequency distribution

There are specific procedures for constructing each type.

NB: The main purpose of grouping is now summarization and condensation of the masses of data.

1) Categorical(Qualitative) frequency Distribution:

Used for data that can be place in specific categories such as nominal or ordinal data.

E.g. Marital status

Example: A social worker collected the following data on marital status for 25
persons. (M=married, S=single, W=widowed, D=divorced)

M S D W D
S S M M M
W D S M M
W D D S S
 S W W D D

Solution:

Since the data are categorical, discrete classes can be used. There are four types of marital status
M, S, D, and W. These types will be used as class for the distribution. We follow procedure to
construct the frequency distribution.

Step 1: Make a table as shown.

Class Tally Frequency Percent

(1) (2) (3) (4)
M
S
D
W

Step 2: Tally the data and place the result in column (2).

Step 3: Count the tally and place the result in column (3).

Step 4: Find the percentages of values in each class by using;

f
%= ∗100
n Where f= frequency of the class, n=total number of value.

Percentages are not normally a part of frequency distribution but they can be added since they are
used in certain types diagrammatic such as pie charts.

Step 5: Find the total for column (3) and (4).

Combing the entire steps one can construct the following frequency distribution.

Class Tally Frequency Percent

(1) (2) (3) (4)
M //// / 6 24 1)

S //// // 7 28 2)
D //// // 7 28
3)
W //// 5 20
 2) Ungrouped frequency Distribution:

 Is a table of all the potential raw score values that could possible occur in the data along with
the number of times each actually occurred.

 Is often constructed for small set or data on discrete variable.

Constructing ungrouped frequency distribution:

 First find the smallest and largest raw score in the collected data.
 Arrange the data in order of magnitude and count the frequency.
 To facilitate counting one may include a column of tallies.

Example:
The following data represent the mark of 20 students.

80 76 90 85 80
70 60 62 70 85
65 60 63 74 75
76 70 70 80 85

Construct a frequency distribution, which is ungrouped.

Solution:

Step 1: Find the range, Range=Max-Min=90-60=30.

Step 2: Make a table as shown
Step 3: Tally the data.
Step 4: Compute the frequency.
Mark Tally Frequency
60 // 2
62 / 1
63 / 1
65 / 1
70 //// 4
74 / 1
75 // 2
76 / 1
80 /// 3
85 /// 3
90 / 1

Each individual value is presented separately, that is why it is named ungrouped frequency
distribution.
 3) Grouped frequency Distribution:

 When the range of the data is large, the data must be grouped in to classes that are more than
one unit in width.

Definitions:

 Grouped Frequency Distribution: a frequency distribution when several numbers are

grouped in one class.
 Class limits (CL): Separates one class in a grouped frequency distribution from another. The
limits could actually appear in the data and have gaps between the upper limits of one class
and lower limit of the next.
 Units of measurement (U): the distance between two possible consecutive measures. It is
usually taken as 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, -----.
 Class boundaries: Separates one class in a grouped frequency distribution from another. The
boundaries have one more decimal places than the row data and therefore do not appear in
the data. There is no gap between the upper boundary of one class and lower boundary of the
next class. The lower class boundary is found by subtracting U/2 from the corresponding
lower class limit and the upper class boundary is found by adding U/2 to the corresponding
1 1
upper class limit. That is, LCB=LCL+ 2 U and UCB =UCL + 2 U
 Class width (W): the difference between the upper and lower class boundaries of any class.
It is also the difference between the lower limits of any two consecutive classes or the
difference between any two consecutive class marks.

Class mark (Mid points): it is the average of the lower and upper class limits or the average of
UCBi + LCB i
M=
upper and lower class boundary. i.e. 2

 Cumulative frequency: is the number of observations less than/more than or equal to a

specific value.
 Cumulative frequency above: it is the total frequency of all values greater than or equal to
the lower class boundary of a given class.
 Cumulative frequency blow: it is the total frequency of all values less than or equal to the
upper class boundary of a given class.
 Cumulative Frequency Distribution (CFD): it is the tabular arrangement of class interval
together with their corresponding cumulative frequencies. It can be more than or less than
type, depending on the type of cumulative frequency used.
 Relative frequency (rf): it is the frequency divided by the total frequency.

Frequency of that class

Re lative frequency of a class=
Total frequency
 Relative cumulative frequency (rcf): it is the cumulative frequency divided by the total
frequency.
Guidelines for classes

1. There should be between 5 and 20 classes.

2. The classes must be mutually exclusive. This means that no data value can fall into two
different classes
3. The classes must be all inclusive or exhaustive. This means that all data values must be
included.
4. The classes must be continuous. There are no gaps in a frequency distribution.
5. The classes must be equal in width. The exception here is the first or last class. It is
possible to have an "below ..." or "... and above" class. This is often used with ages.

Steps for constructing Grouped frequency Distribution

1. First arrange the data in ascending order and determine the unit of measurement, U
2. Find the largest and smallest values , then Compute the Range(R) = Maximum -
Minimum
3. Select the number of classes interval (K) desired, usually between 5 and 20 or use Sturges
k=1+3 .32 log n
formula: where k is number of classes desired and n is total number of
observation.

NB: k must be rounded up/down to the nearest whole number.

4. Find the class width: It is the gap between two consecutive class intervals. Dividing the
R
w=
k
range by the number of classes and rounding up. .
 When the data is given as
 Whole number "w" always rounded up to the next whole number.
e.g. w=4.13 ≈5
 With one decimal "w" always rounded up to the next 1st decimal.
e.g. w=0.325 ≈ 0.4 .
 With two decimals "w" always rounded up to the next 2nd decimal.
e.g. w=2.532 ≈ 2.54 ;∧w=0.981 ≈ 0.99.
5. Find the class limit: They are called lower and upper class limits.

Pick a suitable starting point less than or equal to the minimum value. The starting point
is called the lower limit of the first class. Continue to add the class width to this lower
limit to get the rest of the lower limits.

 Lower class limit (LCL): The LCL of the first class interval should be equal to or
smaller than the smallest observation in the data.
i.e. lcl1 ≤ the smallest observation
 Continue to add the class width to this lower limit to get the rest of the
lower limits. i.e. lcli +1=lcl i+ w , i=1 ,2 , … , k−1 .

 Upper class limit (UCL): To find the upper class limit of the first class, subtract
ufrom the lower limit of the second class. i .e .ucl1=lcl 2−u .

Then continue to add the class width to this upper limit to get the rest of
the upper class limits. i.e. ucli+1 =ucli+ w , i=1 ,2 , … , k −1.

6. Find the class boundary: are the set of exact limits or true limits. They are called lower
and upper class boundaries.
 Lower class boundary (LCB): The Lcb is obtained by subtracting half the unit of
measurements from the lcl of the class. i.e.
u
lcbi=lcl i− Note :lcbi+ 1=lcbi+ w
2
 Upper class boundary (UCB): The Ucb is obtained by adding half the unit of
measurements from the ucl of the class. i.e.
u
ucbi =ucli+ Note :ucb i+1=ucb i+ w
2
7. Class marks (mid points) (m): It is the average of Lcl and Ucl or Lcb and Ucb.
lcli +ucli lcbi+ucb i
m i= ∨mi= Note :mi +1=mi+ w
2 2
8. Tally the data.
9. Find the frequencies.
10. Find the cumulative frequencies. Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, it may
not be necessary to find the cumulative frequencies.
11. If necessary, find the relative frequencies and/or relative cumulative frequencies

Example: Construct a grouped frequency distribution for the following data.

11 29 6 33 14 31 22 27 19 20
18 17 22 38 23 21 26 34 39 27
Solutions:
Step 1: Arrange the data in ascending order and U=20-19=1
Step 2: Find the range (R) : R=Max−Min=39−6=33.
Step 3: Select the number of classes desired using Sturge's formula;
 k =1+3.322 x log n=¿ k=1+3.322 x log ( 20 )=5.32 ≈ 5(rounding down).
R 33
Step 4: Find the class width; w= =w= =6.6 ≈ 7 ( always rounding up ) .
k 5
Step 5: Find the lower and the upper class limits.
 Select the starting point let it be the smallest observation.
 6, 13, 20, 27, 34 are the lower class limits.

 Find the upper class limits; e.g. the first upper class limit i .e .
ucl1=13−u=13−1=12.
 UCL=12, 19, 26, 33, 40 are the upper class limits.
So combininglcl∧ucl, one can construct the following classes.
Class limits
6 – 12
13 – 19
20 – 26
27 – 33
34 – 40

Step 6: Find the class boundaries;

u 1 u 1
E . g . For class 1; lcb1=6− =6− =5.5 and ucb1 =12+ =12+ =12.5
2 2 2 2
Then continue adding w on both boundaries to obtain the rest boundaries. By doing so
one can obtain the following classes.
Class boundary
5.5 – 12.5
12.5 – 19.5
19.5 – 26.5
26.5 – 33.5
33.5 – 39.5
Step 7: Find the frequencies.
 The complete frequency distribution is given as follows:

Class Class Class f Lcf Mcf rf. %rf %rcf

limit boundary Mark
6 – 12 5.5 – 12.5 9 2 ≤ 12.5 (≤ 12 )=¿2 ≥ 5.5 ( ≥6 )=20 0.10 10% 10%
13 – 19 12.5 – 19.5 16 4 ≤ 19.5 (≤ 19 ) =6 ≥ 12.5 ( ≥13 )=18 0.20 20% 30%
20 – 26 19.5 – 26.5 23 6 ≤ 26.5 ( ≤26 )=12 ≥ 19.5 ( ≥20 )=14 0.30 30% 60%
27 – 33 26.5 – 33.5 30 5 ≤ 33.5 ( ≤33 )=17 ≥ 26.5 ( ≥27 )=8 0.25 25% 85%
34 – 40 33.5 – 39.5 37 3 ≤ 39.5 ( ≤39 ) =20 ≥ 33.5 ( ≥34 )=3 0.15 15% 100%

Diagrammatical presentation of data.

 These are techniques for presenting data in visual displays using geometric and pictures.

Importance:

 They have greater attraction.

 They facilitate comparison.
 They are easily understandable.

 Usually diagrams are appropriate for presenting discrete data.

 The three most commonly used diagrammatic presentation for discrete as well as qualitative data are:

 Pie charts
 pictogram
 Bar charts

1. Pie chart

A pie chart is a circle that is divided in to sections or wedges according to the percentage of
frequencies in each category of the distribution. The angle of the sector of a class is obtained by
multiplying the ratio of the frequency of the class to the total frequency by 3600.
frequency of the class
i.e. sec tor angle of a class= ×3600
total frequency
Note that: pie-charts are usually used for depicting nominal level data.

Example: Draw the pie chart for the following hospital data. First construct a table providing the
central angles.

How to draw a pie-chart

- First find the percentages of each class
- Next calculate the degree measures for each class
- Finally, using a protractor, put each sector /degree measure/ in a circle and give a key for
explanation.

Wards Frequency Percentage rf Central angle

Medical A 85 42.5% 1530
Surgical A 65 32.5% 1170
Pediatrics 50 25% 900
Total 200 100% 3600
2. Pictogram
- In pictograms, we represent the data by means of some picture symbols. Here we decide a
suitable picture to represent a definite number of units in which the variable is measured.

Example: Draw a pictorial diagram to present the following data (number of students in a certain
school for four years.)

Year 1992 1993 1994 1995

No. of students 2000 3000 5000 7000

Let a single picture () represents one thousand students.

199 
5
199  Key: = 1000 students
4
199 
3
199 
2

3. Bar Charts:
 Bar-diagrams are usually used to represent one way or simple frequency distribution.
 Bar-diagrams can be drawn either horizontally or vertically. Usually horizontal bar-
diagrams are used for qualitatively classified data whereas vertical bar-diagrams are used
for quantitatively classified data.

There are a number of bar-diagrams. The most common being:

 Simple bar chart
 Component bar chart
 Multiple bar chart

1. Simple bar-diagrams
Simple bar-diagrams are used to depict data of single variable or one-way variable.

Example: The following frequency distribution shows sales of production (in million birr) of
three products for 2004 production year.
Product Sale (in
million)
A 14
B 21
C 9
D 17
The bar-diagram presentation for these data is given below.

2. Component bar-diagrams
When it is desired to show how a total (an aggregate) is divided into component parts, we use
component bar diagram. In such type of bar-diagrams, the bars represent aggregate value of a
variable with each aggregate broken into its component parts and different colors or designs are
used for identification.

Example: Represent the following data using bar-charts

Data: Yields of production of farmers in Southern Ethiopia.
Year  1990 EC 1991 EC 1992 EC 1993 EC
Crop
Barley 14 15 26 19
Wheat 10 15 14 25
Maize 2 6 10 3
Total 26 36 50 47

The component bar-diagram for this table is as follows

 3. Multiple bar-diagrams
Multiple bar-diagrams are used to display data on more than one variable. They are used for
comparing different variables at the same time.

Example: The data given in the above example can be presented by using multiple bar-diagram
as below.

4. Graphical Presentation of data

Three common graphic presentations of data: histogram, frequency polygon, and cumulative frequency
polygon (ogive).
Procedures for constructing statistical graphs:
 Draw and label the X and Y axes.
 Choose a suitable scale for the frequencies or cumulative frequencies and label it on the Y axes.
 Represent the class boundaries for the histogram or ogive or the mid points for the frequency
polygon on the X axes.
 Plot the points.
 Draw the bars or lines to connect the points.

a) Histogram
It presents a grouped frequency distribution of a continuous type. It is drawn by making class
boundaries in the x-axis and frequencies in the y-axis.
Example: Draw a histogram for the following grouped age data.
 Class limit Class Mid point Frequency
boundaries
15-19 14.5-19.5 17 2
20-24 19.5-24.5 22 8
25-29 24.5-29.5 27 6
30-34 29.5-34.5 32 12
35-39 34.5-39.5 37 7
40-44 39.5-44.5 42 6
45-49 44.5-49.5 47 4
50-54 49.5-54.5 52 3
55-59 54.5-59.5 57 1
60-64 59.5-64.5 62 1

b. Frequency Polygon

A frequency polygon is a line graph drawn by taking the frequencies of the classes along the
vertical axis and their respective class marks along the horizontal axis. Then join the cross points
by a free hand curve.

Example: Present the data in the previous example using a frequency polygon.

C. Cumulative Frequency Polygon (Ogive)

Cumulative frequency polygon can be traced on less than or more than cumulative frequency
basis. Place the class boundaries along the horizontal axis and the corresponding cumulative
frequencies (either less than or more than cumulative frequencies) along the vertical axis. Then
join the cross points by a free hand curve.

Example: the data in the previous example can be presented using either a less than or a more
than cumulative frequency polygon as given below (i) and (ii) respectively.
(i) Less than type cumulative frequency polygon

(ii) More than type cumulative frequency polygon