What is Descriptive Statistics?

Descriptive statistics are brief descriptive coefficients that summarize a given

data set, which can be either a representation of the entire or a sample of a
population. Descriptive statistics are broken down into measures of central
tendency and measures of variability (spread). Measures of central tendency
include the mean, median, and mode, while measures of variability include the
standard deviation, variance, the minimum and maximum variables, and the
kurtosis and skewness.
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What is Descriptive Statistics?

Understanding Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics, in short, help describe and understand the features of a
specific data set by giving short summaries about the sample and measures of
the data. The most recognized types of descriptive statistics are measures of
center: the mean, median, and mode, which are used at almost all levels of math
and statistics. The mean, or the average, is calculated by adding all the figures
within the data set and then dividing by the number of figures within the set. For
example, the sum of the following data set is 20: (2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The mean is 4
(20/5). The mode of a data set is the value appearing most often, and the median
is the figure situated in the middle of the data set. It is the figure separating the
higher figures from the lower figures within a data set. However, there are less-
common types of descriptive statistics that are still very important.
People use descriptive statistics to repurpose hard-to-understand quantitative
insights across a large data set into bite-sized descriptions. A student's grade
point average (GPA), for example, provides a good understanding of descriptive
statistics. The idea of a GPA is that it takes data points from a wide range of
exams, classes, and grades, and averages them together to provide a general
understanding of a student's overall academic abilities. A student's personal GPA
reflects his mean academic performan

Frequency Distribution and Data:

Types, Tables, and Graphs
Frequency distribution in statistics provides the information of the
number of occurrences (frequency) of distinct values distributed
within a given period of time or interval, in a list, table, or graphical
representation. Grouped and Ungrouped are two types of Frequency
Distribution. Data is a collection of numbers or values and it must be
organized for it to be useful. Let us take a look at data and its
frequency distribution.
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Data
Any bit of information that is expressed in a value or numerical
number is data. For example, the marks you scored in your Math
exam is data, and the number of cars that pass through a bridge in a
day is also data. Data is basically a collection of information,
measurements or observations.
Raw data is an initial collection of information. This information has
not yet been organized. After the very first step of data collection, you
will get raw data. For example, we go around and ask a group of five
friends their favourite colour. The answers are Blue, Green, Blue, Red,
and Red. This collection of information is the raw data.
Then there is discrete data and continuous data. Discrete data is that
which is recorded in whole numbers, like the number of children in a
school or number of tigers in a zoo. It cannot be in decimals or
fractions. Continuous data need not be in whole numbers, it can be
in decimals. Examples are the temperature in a city for a week, your
percentage of marks for the last exam etc.
Frequency
The frequency of any value is the number of times that value appears
in a data set. So from the above examples of colours, we can say two
children like the colour blue, so its frequency is two. So to make
meaning of the raw data, we must organize. And finding out the
frequency of the data values is how this organisation is done.
Frequency Distribution
What is a frequency distribution?

Frequency distributions are visual displays that organise and present frequency counts so that
the information can be interpreted more easily.

Frequency distributions can show absolute frequencies or relative frequencies, such as proportions or
percentages.

How do we show a frequency distribution?

A frequency distribution of data can be shown in a table or graph. Some common methods of showing
frequency distributions include frequency tables, histograms or bar charts.

Frequency Tables

A frequency table is a simple way to display the number of occurrences of a particular value or
characteristic.

For example, if we have collected data about height from a sample of 50 children, we could present our
findings as:
Height of Children

Height (cm) of children Absolute frequency Relative frequency

120 – less than 130 9 18%

130 – less than 140 10 20%

140 – less than 150 13 26%

150 – less than 160 11 22%

160 – less than 170 7 14%

Total 50 100%

From this frequency table we can quickly identify information such as 7 children (14% of all children) are

in the 160 to less than 170 cm height range, and that there are more children with heights in the 140 to

less than 150 cm range (26% of all children) than any other height range.

Data can also be presented in graphical form.

Frequency Graphs

Histograms and bar charts are both visual displays of frequencies using columns plotted on a graph. The

Y-axis (vertical axis) generally represents the frequency count, while the X-axis (horizontal axis) generally

represents the variable being measured.

Frequency Distribution Graph

Using the same above example we can make the following graph:
Learn more about Bar Graphs and Histogram here.
Types of Frequency Distribution
 Grouped frequency distribution.
 Ungrouped frequency distribution.
 Cumulative frequency distribution.
 Relative frequency distribution.
 Relative cumulative frequency distribution.
Grouped Data
At certain times to ensure that we are making correct and relevant
observations from the data set, we may need to group the data into
class intervals. This ensures that the frequency distribution best
represents the data. Let us make a grouped frequency data table of
the same example above of the height of students.

Class Interval Frequency

130-140 4

140-150 3

150-160 3

From the above table, you can see that the value of 150 is put in the
class interval of 150-160 and not 140-150. This is the convention we
must follow.
Solved Example for You
Q: The table gives the number of snacks ordered and the number of
days as a tally. Find the frequency of snacks ordered.
Sol: From the frequency table the number of snacks ordered ranging
between
 2-4 is 4 days
 4 to 6 is 3 days
 6 to 8 is 9 days
 8 to 10 is 9 days
 10 to 12 is 7 days.
So the frequencies for all snacks ordered are 4, 3, 9, 9, 7
cumulative frequency
The cumulative frequency gives the number that falls into the current class
interval or any class interval that comes before it. You could think of it as ‘the
number so far’ function. To find the cumulative frequency for a class, take
the number in the current class and add on the previous cumulative
frequency for the class below, for example, for 1900–2000 we have a
frequency of 92. The cumulative frequency for 1800–1900 is 859. Add 859 +
92 to get the cumulative frequency of 951. That is, 951 light bulbs in the
sample have a lifetime below 2000 h. Notice that the cumulative frequency
of the final class must equal the total number in the sample. This is because
the final class must include the maximum value in the sample and all the
others

Graph
Definition Of Graph
Statistics: A graph is a picture that represents data in an organized manner

Algebra: A graph is a line or curve drawn on a number line or coordinate plane by joining the points
represented by certain ordered pairs

More About Graph:

It's a pictorial representation of the data
Graph is the best tool to understand the data in an easy way
A graph is drawn in a grid
A graph is drawn between X and Y axes, where X axis is a horizontal line while Y axis is a vertical line

Examples of Graph
The figure shown below is an example of a statistical graph, called the bar graph that shows the number
of people visited a park in different years.

Bar chart:
A bar graph is a mathematical representation of data. In this lesson, you will learn the definition of a bar
graph, including how to recognize the different types of bar graphs. You will also learn how to create bar
graphs.

Definition of a Bar graph

A bar graph is a chart that uses bars to show comparisons between categories of data. The bars can be either
horizontal or vertical. Bar graphs with vertical bars are sometimes called vertical bar graphs. A bar graph will
have two axes. One axis will describe the types of categories being compared, and the other will have
numerical values that represent the values of the data. It does not matter which axis is which, but it will
determine what bar graph is shown. If the descriptions are on the horizontal axis, the bars will be oriented
vertically, and if the values are along the horizontal axis, the bars will be oriented horizontally.

Types of Bar Graphs

There are many different types of bar graphs. They are not always interchangeable. Each type will work best
with a different type of comparison. The comparison you want to make will help determine which type of bar
graph to use. First we'll discuss some simple bar graphs.

A simple vertical bar graph is best when you have to compare between two or more independent variables.
Each variable will relate to a fixed value. The values are positive and therefore, can be fixed to the horizontal
value.

Vertical bar graph

If your data has negative and positive values but is still a comparison between two or more fixed independent
variables, it is best suited for a horizontal bar graph. The vertical axis can be oriented in the middle of the
horizontal axis, allowing for negative and positive values to be represented.

Horizontal bar graph

A range bar graph represents a range of data for each independent variable. Temperature ranges or price
ranges are common sets of data for range graphs. Unlike the above graphs, the data do not start from a
common zero point but begin at a low number for that particular point's range of data. A range bar graph can
be either horizontal or vertical.

Which day had a significant change in the amount of push-ups? In this question, there are two possible
answers, which are Wednesday (with a decrease of 20 push-ups) and Saturday (with an increase of 20 push-
ups). What is the interval of the line graph? The correct answer is 5. Look at the y-axis and you can see that
we start out with 0, move up in intervals of 5, and end with 30.

What is a line graph?

We may represent data using a line graph. A line graph is formed by joining the
points given by the data with straight lines.

A line graph is usually used to show the change of information over a

period of time. This means that the horizontal axis is usually a time scale, for
example minutes, days, months or years.

Example:

The table shows the daily earnings of a store for five days.
 Day Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri

Earnings 300 450 200 400 650

a) Construct a line graph for the frequency table.

b) On which days were the earnings above $ 400

Solution:

a)

FINITION Histogram
A histogram is a display of statistical information that uses
rectangles to show the frequency of data items in successive numerical
intervals of equal size. In the most common form of histogram, the
independent variable is plotted along the horizontal axis and the dependent
variable is plotted along the vertical axis. The data appears as colored or
shaded rectangles of variable area.
The illustration, below, is a histogram showing the results of a final exam
given to a hypothetical class of students. Each score range is denoted by a
bar of a certain color. If this histogram were compared with those of classes
from other years that received the same test from the same professor,
conclusions might be drawn about intelligence changes among students over
the years. Conclusions might also be drawn concerning the improvement or
decline of the professor's teaching ability with the passage of time. If this
histogram were compared with those of other classes in the same semester
who had received the same final exam but who had taken the course from
different professors, one might draw conclusions about the relative
competence of the professors.
Some histograms are presented with the independent variable along the
vertical axis and the dependent variable along the horizontal axis. That format
is less common than the one shown here.

Pie Chart
Pie Chart: a special chart that uses "pie slices" to show relative sizes of data.

Imagine you survey your friends to find the kind of movie they like best:

Table: Favorite Type of Movie

Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi

4 5 6 1 4
You can show the data by this Pie Chart:
It is a really good way to show relative sizes: it is easy to see which movie types
are most liked, and which are least liked, at a glance.

You can create graphs like that using our Data Graphs (Bar, Line and Pie) page.

Or you can make them yourself ...

How to Make Them Yourself

First, put your data into a table (like above), then add up all the values to get a
total:

Table: Favorite Type of Movie

Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL

4 5 6 1 4 20
Next, divide each value by the total and multiply by 100 to get a percent:

Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL

4 5 6 1 4 20

4/20 5/20 6/20 1/20 4/20

100%
= 20% = 25% = 30% = 5% = 20%

Now to figure out how many degrees for each "pie slice" (correctly called a sector).

A Full Circle has 360 degrees, so we do this calculation:

Comedy Action Romance Drama SciFi TOTAL

4 5 6 1 4 20

20% 25% 30% 5% 20% 100%

4/20 × 360° 5/20 × 360° 6/20 × 360° 1/20 × 360° 4/20 × 360°
360°
= 72° = 90° = 108° = 18° = 72°

Now you are ready to start drawing!

Draw a circle.

Then use your protractor to measure the degrees of each sector.

Here I show the first sector ...

Finish up by coloring each sector and giving it a label like "Comedy: 4 (20%)",
etc.

(And dont forget a title!)

Another Example
You can use pie charts to show the relative sizes of many things, such as:

 what type of car people have,

 how many customers a shop has on different days and so on.
 how popular are different breeds of dogs

Example: Student Grades

Here is how many students got each grade in the recent test:

A B C D
4 12 10 2
And here is the pie chart.

Frequency Polygons
A frequency polygon is almost identical to a histogram, which is used to compare sets
of data or to display a cumulative frequency distribution. It uses a line graph to
represent quantitative data.

Statistics deals with the collection of data and information for a particular purpose. The
tabulation of each run for each ball in cricket gives the statistics of the game. Tables,
graphs, pie-charts, bar graphs, histograms, polygons etc. are used to represent
statistical data pictorially.

Let us consider an example to understand this in a better way.

Example 1: In a batch of 400 students, the height of students is given in the

following table. Represent it through a frequency polygon.

Solution: Following steps are to be followed to construct a histogram from the given
data:

 The heights are represented on the horizontal axes on a suitable scale as shown.
 The number of students is represented on the vertical axes on a suitable scale as
shown.
 Now rectangular bars of widths equal to the class- size and the length of the bars
corresponding to a frequency of the class interval is drawn.

ABCDEF represents the given data graphically in form of frequency polygon as:
Frequency polygons can also be drawn independently without drawing histograms. For
this, the midpoints of the class intervals known as class marks are used to plot the
points.

What is Cumulative Frequency?

The frequency is the number of times an event occurs within a
given scenario. Cumulative frequency is defined as the running
total of frequencies. It is the sum of all the previous frequencies
up to the current point. It is easily understandable through a
Cumulative Frequency Table.

Frequency

Marks (No. of Cumulative Frequency

Students)
What is Cumulative Frequency?
The frequency is the number of times an event occurs within a given
scenario. Cumulative frequency is defined as the running total of
frequencies. It is the sum of all the previous frequencies up to the
current point. It is easily understandable through a Cumulative
Frequency Table.

Frequency

Marks
(No. of Cumulative Frequency

Students)

0–5 2 2

5 – 10 10 12

10 – 15 5 17

15 – 20 5 22

Cumulative Frequency is an important tool in Statistics to tabulate data

in an organized manner. Whenever you wish to find out the popularity
of a certain type of data, or the likelihood that a given event will fall
within certain frequency distribution, a cumulative frequency table can
be most useful. Say, for example, the Census department has collected
data and wants to find out all residents in the city aged below 45. In this
given case, a cumulative frequency table will be helpful.

Cumulative Frequency Curve

A curve that represents the cumulative frequency distribution of

grouped data on a graph is called a Cumulative Frequency Curve or an
Ogive. Representing cumulative frequency data on a graph is the most
efficient way to understand the data and derive results.

Learn more about Frequency Polygon here.

There are two types of Cumulative Frequency Curves (or Ogives) :

 More than type Cumulative Frequency Curve

 Less than type Cumulative Frequency Curve

More Than Type Cumulative Frequency Curve
Here we use the lower limit of the classes to plot the curve.

How to plot a More than type Ogive:

1. In the graph, put the lower limit on the x-axis

2. Mark the cumulative frequency on the y-axis.

3. Plot the points (x,y) using lower limits (x) and their corresponding
Cumulative frequency (y)

4. Join the points by a smooth freehand curve. It looks like an upside

down S.

Measures of Central Tendency

Introduction
A measure of central tendency is a single value that attempts to describe a set
of data by identifying the central position within that set of data. As such,
measures of central tendency are sometimes called measures of central
location. They are also classed as summary statistics. The mean (often called
the average) is most likely the measure of central tendency that you are most
familiar with, but there are others, such as the median and the mode.
The mean, median and mode are all valid measures of central tendency, but
under different conditions, some measures of central tendency become more
appropriate to use than others. In the following sections, we will look at the
mean, mode and median, and learn how to calculate them and under what
conditions they are most appropriate to be used.

Statistical Data Analysis

Statistics is basically a science that involves data collection, data
interpretation and finally, data validation. Statistical data
analysis is a procedure of performing various statistical
operations. It is a kind of quantitative research, which seeks to
quantify the data, and typically, applies some form of statistical
analysis. Quantitative data basically involves descriptive data, such
as survey data and observational data.
Statistical data analysis generally involves some form of statistical
tools, which a layman cannot perform without having any
statistical knowledge. There are various software packages to
perform statistical data analysis. This software includes Statistical
Analysis System (SAS), Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
(SPSS), Stat soft, etc.

Data in statistical data analysis consists of variable(s).

Sometimes the data is univariate or multivariate. Depending upon
the number of variables, the researcher performs different
statistical techniques.
If the data in statistical data analysis is multiple in numbers, then
several multivariates can be performed. These are factor statistical
data analysis, discriminant statistical data analysis, etc. Similarly,
if the data is singular in number, then the univariate statistical
data analysis is performed. This includes t test for significance, z
test, f test, ANOVA one way, etc.

The data in statistical data analysis is basically of 2 types,

namely, continuous data and discreet data. The continuous data is
the one that cannot be counted. For example, intensity of a light
can be measured but cannot be counted. The discreet data is the
one that can be counted. For example, the number of bulbs can be
counted.
The continuous data in statistical data analysis is distributed
under continuous distribution function, which can also be called
the probability density function, or simply pdf.

The discreet data in statistical data analysis is distributed under

discreet distribution function, which can also be called the
probability mass function or simple pmf.

We use the word ‘density’ in continuous data of statistical data

analysis because density cannot be counted, but can be measured.
We use the word ‘mass’ in discreet data of statistical data analysis
because mass cannot be counted.
There are various pdf’s and pmf’s in statistical data analysis. For
example, Poisson distribution is the commonly known pmf, and
normal distribution is the commonly known pdf.

These distributions in statistical data analysis help us to

understand which data falls under which distribution. If the data
is about the intensity of a bulb, then the data would be falling in
Poisson distribution.