Dr.

Ajit Patil

Data Presentation

Data presentation

A method by which information is summarized, organized and communicated

using a variety of tools such as tables, charts and diagrams. Data presentation is
an important part of the process of data analysis and report writing.

Following points should be considered, while presenting the data-

1. The presentation should be simple as possible

2. It should be self-explanatory.

3. The title should be clear and concise

4. Codes, legends should be clear and concise.

5. Use of footnotes for correct interpretation of the chart or graph.

Methods of Presentation

Tabulation
Qualitative Quantitative
Simple Table Frequency Distribution Table
Complex Table

A. Table

Tables are the simplest and most revealing methods for presentation of both
qualitative and quantitative data in a meaningful manner. Tabulation is a very
important step for data analysis and interpretation.

1. Table should be numbered e.g. table 1, table 2 etc.

2. Title should be brief and self-explanatory.

 Dr. Ajit Patil

3. Table should be of optimal size, not too large.

4. Headings of columns and rows should be clear & concise.

5. Foot notes should give interpretation of things difficult to understand.

6. Use of dash (-), dicto (II) and short forms in stubs and captions should be
avoided.

7. The signs, symbols and abbreviations should be explained in foot note.

8. Units used should be mentioned in head note.

Parts of the Table:

1. Table number
2. Title of the table
3. Caption-column heading
4. Stubs-designation of rows
5. Head note
6. Body of the table
7. Foot note
Types-
1. Master table
2. Complex table
3. Simple table
4. Frequency distribution table

1. Master Table-

a. Master table is a grand table which contains information of all the initial
reading experimental units which are serially recorded.
b. Master data is a permanent data or which changes very rarely. eg. Address
containing information about name, address and telephone numbers.
 Dr. Ajit Patil

c. In a clinical research, the table which contains all the information of the
patient’s name, age, sex and experimental observations in a sequence is
called master table

S.No. Name age Sex Height Weight B.M.I

2. Simple Table-

The table in which characteristics under observation are fixed is called simple
take contains one or two attributes.

E.g. Population of different countries

- Infant mortality rates of different states in India.

- Blood group of 50 people in an area.

Blood Group No. of People

A+ 10
B+ 12
AB+ 15
A- 2
AB- 5

3. Complex Table

When a table contains more than two attributes and multiple items, is called
complex table.

Example- Gender wise blood group of 30 people in an area.

 Dr. Ajit Patil

Blood Group Male Female No. of People

A+ 5 5 10
B+ 5 3 8
AB+ 2 4 6
A- 2 0 2
AB- 1 3 4

4. Frequency Distribution Table

It shows distribution of frequencies of different classes.

A set of mutually exclusive classes and the number of individuals of each class
makes a frequency distribution.

In this table, large or ungrouped data is presented in small easily manageable

number.

Types-

(a) Discrete frequency distribution table- (For both qualitative & quantitative
(b) Continuous frequency distribution table- (For quantitative data only)

(a) Discrete frequency distribution table-

The table which contains discrete data i.e. in whole numbers only is called
discrete frequency distribution table. It is used for both grouped and
ungrouped data.

For Example:

A) Grouped
 Dr. Ajit Patil

(b) Continuous Frequency Distribution Table-

The table which contains continuous data i.e., whole numbers as well as fractions
with respect to their frequencies is called continuous frequency distribution table.
It is used for presentation of quantitative data only. It contains grouped data.

For Example: Haemoglobin of 50 people in an area.

Rules for Making Frequency Distribution Table-

a. The class or group interval between the groups should not be too broad or
too narrow.
b. The number of groups of classes should be between 6-16.
c. The class interval should be same throughout the table e.g.

For example Height in cms -

 160-162
 Dr. Ajit Patil

 162-164
 164-166
d. The headings should be clear, For Example
 Height in inches or centimetres
 Age in years or months
 Weight in kilograms or pounds.
e. Groups should be tabulated in ascending or descending order, from the
lowest value in range to the highest.
 For example weight in kilograms 50-52, 52-54, 54-56

(B) Drawings-

a. The presentation of frequencies of characteristics by graphs (Lines) or

diagram (shades) is called drawing.
b. The drawings are considered best method for quick eye reading. These are
better retained in memory than the tables.
c. The drawings are usually meant for non-statistical persons who want to
study the relative values or frequencies of persons or events.

Drawings
Qualitative Quantitative
Diagrams Graphs
Bar Diagram Histogram
Pie Chart Frequency polygon
Pictogram Frequency Curve
Line Chart
Cumulative frequency Curve
Scatter Diagram
 Dr. Ajit Patil

I) Qualitative Data

1. Bar Diagram-
a. Presentation of the qualitative data with the help of bars is called bar
diagram. Length of bars indicates the frequency of a character Bars can be
drawn vertically or horizontally.
b. Bar diagram or bar chart is a popular method of presenting discrete
statistical data and is adopted for visual comparison of the magnitude of
different frequencies such as mortality, immunization status of population
in different ages, Genders or places.
c. Spacing between any two bars should be equal to half of the width of the
bar.
A. Simple Bar Diagram
a. Simplest form of bar diagram.
b. Graphical representation of a data set based on one variable
c. Used to compare two or more values of a single parameter.
d. Can be made vertically or horizontally.

Example: No. of medical students in different states.

 Dr. Ajit Patil

B. Multiple Bar Diagram

a. Shows two or more than two bars together to show two or more parameters
together.
b. Also called grouped bar chart

Example: no. of girls and boys voted each year.

C. Proportional Bar Chart

a. Bars are divided in two or more parts.
b. Each part shows proportion of a certain item.
c. Also known as component and divided bar chart.

Example: people having different blood groups in three different cities.

 Dr. Ajit Patil

2. Pie Chart
a. Also known as Pie/Sector Diagram.
b. Data is presented in a circle know as Pie and degree of angle shows
frequency and area of sector
c. Size of each angle is calculated by multiplying the percentage of class with
3.6.
Class frequency X 3.6
Total observations

Example: Pie Chart showing Favourite subjects.

3. Pictogram
a. Also known as picture diagram
b. Icons or images are used to show the numbers so that is can be easily
understood.
c. All icons must be in same size but fractions of icon can be used to show
fractions.

Example: number of children likes different flavours of pizza.

 Dr. Ajit Patil

(II) Quantitative Data-

1. Histogram-
a. Graphical representation of the frequency distribution shown the form of
area diagram. The area of each block or rectangle varies with the
frequency.
b. Summarize discrete or continuous data that are measured on an interval
scale.
c. Variable characters of different groups are indicated on the horizontal line
i.e., x- axis also called 'Abscissa,'
d. Frequency is marked on the vertical line i.e., Y-axis also called 'Ordinate'.
The diagram of continuous rectangles between x and y axis is called
histogram.

Example: Height of people in particular frequency

 Dr. Ajit Patil

2. Frequency polygon
a. Area diagram of frequency distribution prepared over a histogram.
b. Prepared by joining the midpoints of blocks of histogram

The red line prepared by joining the mid-points of bars of histogram is

frequency polygon.

3. Frequency Curve
a. Prepared by loose hands
b. When frequency polygon loses its angles it is formed.
 Dr. Ajit Patil

c. Used when no. of observations is very large and the group interval is
reduced.

The red curve prepared smoothly by joining the mid-points of bars of

histogram is frequency curve.

4. Line Graph
a. Mainly used to show the trends of events with the passage of time such as
rising, falling etc. or also fluctuations like death rates, birth rates, mortality
rates.
b. When frequency polygon shows variations by line then it is called line
graph.
c. Also known as Line Chart.

Example: Rising Covid Cases

 Dr. Ajit Patil

5. Ogive
a. Defined as Sum of all previous frequencies up to the current point. The
cumulative frequency indicates the number of elements in the data that lie
below the current value.
b. The cumulative frequency is plotted on the y-axis against the data which is
on x-axis for ungrouped data.
c. Also known as Cumulative Frequency Diagram.

For grouped data, the Ogive is formed by plotting the cumulative frequency
again the upper boundary of the class.

Ogive is of two types-

(i) Less than cumulative frequency polygon/ <ogive-

a. The summing up of the frequencies successively is called "Less than
cumulative frequency and its frequency polygon is called less than
frequency polygon or < ogive."
b. It is used to predict graphically the number of observations that lie below
a specified value. Less than cumulative frequencies are marked against the
upper class boundaries.
 Dr. Ajit Patil

(ii) Greater than frequency polygon/ >ogive-

a. Greater than cumulative frequency are marked against the lower class
boundaries to draw a "Greater than cumulative polygon or > ogive.
b. It is used to predict the observations that lie above a specified value".

6. Scatter/Dot diagram-

Scatter or dot diagram is a graphic presentation which shows the nature of

correlation between two variables (X&Y) in the same persons such as height
and weight in women aged 18 years. It is also called "Correlation diagram."

(a) Positive correlation

(b) Negative correlation

(c) No correlation
 Dr. Ajit Patil

Some Important Points

 The process of grouping items according to characteristics of interest is

called 'Classification'. Often, classification alone will not be enough to
draw conclusions.
 Then it will be made into a presentable form by arranging in tables, the
process of which is called 'Tabulation'.
 If the number of values is more, a classification by taking every item
into consideration is not possible. In such cases. the range of the
variable is divided into sub ranges called class intervals'.
 The upper and lower values of the classes are called 'class limits' and
if the class limits are in continuous scale, the values are called class
boundaries or 'true class limits'.
 The difference between the class limits is called the 'width' of the class.
 The mid-value of the class is obtained by taking the average of the
lower and upper class limits.
 The frequency tables must be numbered serially. A vertical
arrangement is preferred. An ideal table can have 5 to 10 classes but
should not be more than 20. There must be proper and self-explanatory
headings.
 The column and row headings must reflect the real nature of
information tabulated. If only one piece of information is tabulated, it
is called a 'simple table'.
 In case, two characteristics-one column-wise and the other row-wise-
are presented, such tables are called 'Cross Tables or Dichotomous
Tables'.