TABULAR METHOD

ED NEIL O. MARATAS, M.A.

INSTRUCTOR, JRMSU
BIOSTATISTICS
Data summary

■ Generally, we want to show the data in a summary form.

■ Number of times that an event occur, is of our interest, it
show us the variable distribution.
■ We can generate a frequency list quantitative or qualitative.
Summary of categorical data
■ We can obtain frequencies of categorical data and summary them
in a table or graphic.
■ Example: we have 21 agents of parasitic diseases isolated from
children.

Giardia lamblia Giardia lamblia Giardia lamblia

Entamoeba histolytica Entamoeba histolytica Entamoeba histolytica
Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides
Enterobius vermicularis Enterobius vermicularis Enterobius vermicularis
Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides
Enterobius vermicularis Enterobius vermicularis Enterobius vermicularis
Giardia lamblia Giardia lamblia Giardia lamblia
Summary of categorical data
■ List of parasites detected show us an idea of the frequency of each
parasite, but that is not clear.
■ If we ordered them, the idea is more clear.

Giardia lamblia Ascaris lumbricoides Enterobius vermicularis

Giardia lamblia Ascaris lumbricoides Enterobius vermicularis
Giardia lamblia Ascaris lumbricoides Enterobius vermicularis
Giardia lamblia Ascaris lumbricoides Enterobius vermicularis
Giardia lamblia Ascaris lumbricoides Entamoeba histolytica
Giardia lamblia Enterobius vermicularis Entamoeba histolytica
Ascaris lumbricoides Enterobius vermicularis Entamoeba histolytica
Summary of categorical data

■ We can show the results in a frequency distribution.

Frequency distribution of intestinal parasites detected in children from

CAISES Celaya, n=21

Parasite Freq.
Giardia lamblia 6
Ascaris lumbricoides 6
Enterobius vermicularis 6
Entamoeba histolytica 3
Total 21
Source: Laboratory report
■ After collecting data, the first task for a researcher is to
organize and simplify the data so that it is possible to get a
general overview of the results.
■ This is the goal of descriptive statistical techniques.
■ One method for simplifying and organizing data is to
construct a frequency distribution.

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Frequency Distributions (cont.)

■ A frequency distribution is an organized tabulation showing exactly

how many individuals are located in each category on the scale of
measurement. A frequency distribution presents an organized picture
of the entire set of scores, and it shows where each individual is
located relative to others in the distribution.

The objective is to provide insights about the data

that cannot be quickly obtained by looking only at
the original data.

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Frequency Distribution
■ Example: Data from a sample of 50 Soft Drink Purchases

■ Frequency Distribution

Soft Drink Frequency

Coke Classic 19
Diet Coke 8
Dr. Pepper 5
Pepsi-Cola 13
Sprite 5
Total 50
Relative and Percent Frequency

The relative frequency of a class is the fraction or

proportion of the total number of data items
belonging to the class.

Frequency of the class

Relative frequency of a class=
n

The percent frequency of a class is the relative

frequency multiplied by 100.
Summary of categorical data
Table X. Frequency, Rel. Freq. and Percent distribution of intestinal parasites detected
in children from CAISES Celaya, n=21

Parasite Freq. Rel.

Percent (%)
Freq.
Giardia lamblia 6
Ascaris lumbricoides 6
Enterobius 6
vermicularis
Entamoeba histolytica 3
Total 21
Source: Laboratory report
Summary of categorical data
■ Sometimes, the number of categories is high and
should diminish the number of categories.

Table Y. Distribution by death cause in Celaya, Gto, during 2012

Death cause Freq. %

Cardiovascular disease 12,525 21.96
Cancer 10,321 18.10
Lower respiratory 8,745 15.34
infections
Other 25,435 44.60
Total 57,026 100.00

Source: Certification of deaths

Frequency distributions for
quantitative data
■ With quantitative data, it is useful calculate cumulative
frequency.
Table Z. Distribution of frequencies in students of Campus that have smoked at
least once. n=534
Age (years) Freq. % % cumulative
19 52 14.70 14.70
20 32 9.00 23.70
21 46 12.99 36.69
22 67 18.94 55.63
23 26 7.35 62.98
24 77 21.76 84.74
25 54 15.26 100.00
Total 534 100.00

Source: Health survey

 Age (years) Freq. %
Distributions of frequencies for <1 2 0.51
grouped quantitative data. 1 8 2.00
■ Frequently, there are many categories with 2 13 3.30
quantitative data, and we have to calculate
intervals for each category. 3 29 7.36
4 37 9.39
Distribution of
frequencies of
5 44 11.17
ages of children 6 51 12.94
with acute
streptoccocal
7 50 12.69
pharyngotonsillitis 8 49 12.44
9 32 8.12
Source: Padilla N, Moreno 10 25 6.35
M. Comparison between 11 22 5.58
clarithromycin, azithromycin
and propicillin in the 12 14 3.55
management of acute 13 9 2.28
streptococcal
pharyngotonsillitis in 14 7 1.78
children. Archivos de 15 2 0.51
Investigación Pediátrica de
México 2005; 8:5-11. (In Total 394 100.00
Grouped Frequency Distribution

■ Sometimes, however, a set of scores covers a wide range of

values. In these situations, a list of all the X values would
be quite long - too long to be a “simple” presentation of the
data.
■ To remedy this situation, a grouped frequency distribution
table is used.
Grouped frequency Distribution is utilized in presenting data sets by
sorting them into classes and showing the frequency of occurrences in each
class.
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 Distribution of frequencies of ages of children with acute streptoccocal
pharyngotonsillitis

Age (years) Freq. %

<1 - 3 52 13.20
Source: Padilla N,
Moreno M. 4-6 132 33.50
Comparison between 6-9 131 33.25
clarithromycin,
azithromycin and 10 - 12 61 15.48
propicillin in the 13 - 15 18 4.57
management of acute
streptococcal Total 394 100.00
pharyngotonsillitis in
children. Archivos de
Investigación
Pediátrica de México
2005; 8:5-11. (In
Spanish)
To group data

■ Guide
– To obtain minimum and maximum values and decide
the number of intervals.
– Number of intervals between 5 and 15.
– To assure interval limits.
– To assure that width of intervals been the same.
– To avoid that first or last interval been open.
Basic Terminology
■ Class intervals or class limits
This refers to the grouping defined by lower class limit and upper class limit.
Sometimes, the class limits is not defined.
■ Class boundaries
These are used to separate the classes so that these are no gaps in the
frequency distribution table. In continuous like test scores, weights, heights, etc. is
supposed to starts and ends with an accurate class limits by at least 0.5.
■ Class Marks or class midpoint
This is the value of a class interval or classes. This is obtained by finding the
average of the lower class limit and upper class limit.
■ Class size or class width
Class size or class width is the difference between the upper class limit/boundary
and lower class limit/boundary. The ratio of two values that is, the range divided by
desired number of classes.
■ Class frequency
This means the number of observations belonging to a class interval.
Steps in Constructing the Grouped frequency Distribution

■ Determine the range (R) of the distribution.

■ Decide the number of classes. Guide: approximately 1 + 3.3 log n
■ Determine the class size (i)
■ Select a starting point. the lowest score or the lower class limit
■ Find the class boundaries.
■ Represent each score by a tally
■ Count the number of frequency for each class
■ Get sum to determine the total frequency.
Example: When 40 people were surveyed at Dipolog City, they
reported the distance they drove to the mall, and the results
(kilometers) are given below.
2 8 1 5 9 5 14 10 31 20
15 4 10 6 5 5 1 8 12 10
25 40 31 24 20 20 3 9 15 15
25 8 1 1 16 23 18 25 21 12
Construct a grouped frequency distribution table.
Solutions: Follow the steps:
1. Range = highest score – lowest score = 40 – 1 = 39
2. Class intervals = 1 + 3.3 log (40) ≈ 6.28 rounded of 6.
𝑅 39
3. Class width = = = 6.5 = 7 class size
𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 6
4. Determine the lower class limit. In this example the lower class
limit is 1. So, add the class width to the lower class limit to get the
next lower limit (8).
5. Determine the class boundaries. This will be obtained by adding
0.5 for each upper class limit and subtract 0.5 for each lower class
limit.
6. Tally the scores.
7. Determine the class midpoint for each class interval.
8. Construct cumulative frequency (less than).
Table 1 Grouped Frequency Distribution for a distance of 40 People drove

Distance Class Class midpoint Frequency Less than Tally

boundaries Cumulative
frequency
1-7 0.5 – 7.5 4 12 12 11111-
11111-11
8-14 7.5 – 14.5 11 11 23 11111-
11111-1
15-21 14.5 – 21.5 18 9 32 11111-
1111
22-28 21.5 – 28.5 25 5 37 11111-
29-35 28.5 – 35.5 32 2 39 11
36-42 35.5 – 42.5 39 1 40 1
Total 40