Frequency distribution
Encyclopedia
In statistics
, a frequency distribution is an arrangement of the values that one or more variables take in a sample
. Each entry in the table contains the frequency
or count of the occurrences of values within a particular group or interval, and in this way, the table summarizes the distribution of values in the sample.
assessing their agreement with a statement on a scale on which 1 denotes strong agreement and 5 strong disagreement, the frequency distribution of their responses might look like:
A different tabulation scheme aggregates values into bins such that each bin encompasses a range of values. For example, the heights of the students in a class could be organized into the following frequency table.
A frequency distribution shows us a summarized grouping of data divided into mutually exclusive classes and the number of occurrences in a class. It is a way of showing unorganized data e.g. to show results of an election, income of people for a certain region, sales of a product within a certain period, student loan amounts of graduates, etc. Some of the graphs that can be used with frequency distributions are histograms, line graphs, bar charts and pie charts. Frequency distributions are used for both qualitative and quantitative data.
The total row and total column report the marginal frequencies or marginal distribution
, while the body of the table reports the joint frequencies.
Statistical hypothesis testing
is founded on the assessment of differences and similarities between frequency distributions. This assessment involves measures of central tendency or average
s, such as the mean
and median
, and measures of variability or statistical dispersion
, such as the standard deviation
or variance
.
A frequency distribution is said to be skewed
when its mean and median are different. The kurtosis
of a frequency distribution is the concentration of scores at the mean, or how peaked the distribution appears if depicted graphically—for example, in a histogram
. If the distribution is more peaked than the normal distribution it is said to be leptokurtic; if less peaked it is said to be platykurtic.
Letter frequency distributions are also used in frequency analysis to crack codes and are referred to the relative frequency of letters in different languages.
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, a frequency distribution is an arrangement of the values that one or more variables take in a sample
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
. Each entry in the table contains the frequency
Frequency (statistics)
In statistics the frequency of an event i is the number ni of times the event occurred in the experiment or the study. These frequencies are often graphically represented in histograms....
or count of the occurrences of values within a particular group or interval, and in this way, the table summarizes the distribution of values in the sample.
Univariate frequency tables
Univariate frequency distributions are often presented as lists ordered by quantity showing the number of times each value appears. For example, if 100 people rate a five-point Likert scaleLikert scale
A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such that the term is often used interchangeably with rating scale, or more accurately the Likert-type scale, even though...
assessing their agreement with a statement on a scale on which 1 denotes strong agreement and 5 strong disagreement, the frequency distribution of their responses might look like:
| Rank Ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second.... |
Degree of agreement | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strongly agree | 20 |
| 2 | Agree somewhat | 30 |
| 3 | Not sure | 20 |
| 4 | Disagree somewhat | 15 |
| 5 | Strongly disagree | 15 |
A different tabulation scheme aggregates values into bins such that each bin encompasses a range of values. For example, the heights of the students in a class could be organized into the following frequency table.
| Height range | Number of students | Cumulative number |
|---|---|---|
| 4.5–5.0 feet | 25 | 25 |
| 5.0–5.5 feet | 35 | 60 |
| 5.5–6 feet | 20 | 80 |
| 6.0–6.5 feet | 20 | 100 |
A frequency distribution shows us a summarized grouping of data divided into mutually exclusive classes and the number of occurrences in a class. It is a way of showing unorganized data e.g. to show results of an election, income of people for a certain region, sales of a product within a certain period, student loan amounts of graduates, etc. Some of the graphs that can be used with frequency distributions are histograms, line graphs, bar charts and pie charts. Frequency distributions are used for both qualitative and quantitative data.
Joint frequency distributions
Bivariate joint frequency distributions are often presented as (two-way) contingency tables:| Dance | Sports | TV | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 2 | 10 | 8 | 20 |
| Women | 16 | 6 | 8 | 30 |
| Total | 18 | 16 | 16 | 50 |
The total row and total column report the marginal frequencies or marginal distribution
Marginal distribution
In probability theory and statistics, the marginal distribution of a subset of a collection of random variables is the probability distribution of the variables contained in the subset. The term marginal variable is used to refer to those variables in the subset of variables being retained...
, while the body of the table reports the joint frequencies.
Applications
Managing and operating on frequency tabulated data is much simpler than operation on raw data. There are simple algorithms to calculate median, mean, standard deviation etc. from these tables.Statistical hypothesis testing
Statistical hypothesis testing
A statistical hypothesis test is a method of making decisions using data, whether from a controlled experiment or an observational study . In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone, according to a pre-determined threshold...
is founded on the assessment of differences and similarities between frequency distributions. This assessment involves measures of central tendency or average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
s, such as the mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
and median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
, and measures of variability or statistical dispersion
Statistical dispersion
In statistics, statistical dispersion is variability or spread in a variable or a probability distribution...
, such as the standard deviation
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is a widely used measure of variability or diversity used in statistics and probability theory. It shows how much variation or "dispersion" there is from the average...
or variance
Variance
In probability theory and statistics, the variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. It is one of several descriptors of a probability distribution, describing how far the numbers lie from the mean . In particular, the variance is one of the moments of a distribution...
.
A frequency distribution is said to be skewed
Skewness
In probability theory and statistics, skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable. The skewness value can be positive or negative, or even undefined...
when its mean and median are different. The kurtosis
Kurtosis
In probability theory and statistics, kurtosis is any measure of the "peakedness" of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable...
of a frequency distribution is the concentration of scores at the mean, or how peaked the distribution appears if depicted graphically—for example, in a histogram
Histogram
In statistics, a histogram is a graphical representation showing a visual impression of the distribution of data. It is an estimate of the probability distribution of a continuous variable and was first introduced by Karl Pearson...
. If the distribution is more peaked than the normal distribution it is said to be leptokurtic; if less peaked it is said to be platykurtic.
Letter frequency distributions are also used in frequency analysis to crack codes and are referred to the relative frequency of letters in different languages.
See also
- Cross tabulationCross tabulationCross tabulation is the process of creating a contingency table from the multivariate frequency distribution of statistical variables. Heavily used in survey research, cross tabulations can be produced by a range of statistical packages, including some that are specialised for the task. Survey...
- Cumulative frequencyCumulative frequencyCumulative frequency may refer to:* Cumulative distribution function* Cumulative frequency analysis...