CHAPTER 8: DISPLAYING DATA

Dr. Le Nguyen Hoang

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Select appropriate methods of

communicating and displaying analysed
data in quantitative and qualitative
research;
Understand how to present data in
tables;
Distinguish different types of graphs
and understand how to use them to
represent data.
 DISPLAYING DATA

Main purpose
The main purpose of using data display techniques is to make the
findings easy and clear to understand, and to provide extensive and
comprehensive information in a succinct and effective way;
The choice of a particular method should be determined primarily by
your impressions / knowledge of your likely readership’s familiarity with
the topic and with the research methodology and statistical procedures.
There are four ways of communicating and displaying the analysed data :
text, tables, graphs, and statistical measures.
 DISPLAYING DATA

Text as a form of data display method

Text is the most common method of communication in both
quantitative and qualitative research, especially the latter.
Displaying text should be thematic [written around various
themes of your report]; findings should be integrated into the
literature citing references using an acceptable system of
citation; your writing should follow a logical progression of
thought; and the layout should be attractive and pleasing to
the eye.
 DISPLAYING TEXT

Create
subheadings
for each topic

Use direct
quotations to
support your
arguments
 DISPLAYING TEXT

The research diary

can also be used for
analysis in
qualitative research
(please note the in-
text citations)
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Displaying numerical data

It is a popular method of communication in quantitative research;

It is necessary to distinguish the characteristics of numeric data before
displaying:
 Categorical data [data categorised based on properties] (the mean value
cannot be calculated) generated from nominal or ordinal scales (EX:
Male/Female; Below average-less than 10 mil VND/month, Average-from
10 to 15 mil VND/month, Above average-more than 15 mil
VND/month)→Frequency tables, Bar/Pie charts;
 Continuous data [data that can take any value within a range] (the mean
value can be calculated) generated from interval or ratio scales (EX: age,
income, attitude) → Data binning (if needed), Frequency tables, Any charts.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Data binning
Based on one (or several) certain criteria to group numbers of more-or-less
continuous values into a smaller number of "bins" [Note that continuous
data will be converted into categorical data after binning]
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Data binning
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning categorical data

If the number of a variable's values is small, there is no need

to bin (e.g. gender, marital status, etc.);
If the variable has many values, then group similar values into
a bin (EX: "nationality" variable – there are 223 nationalities in
the world. In this case, we can group by "continent" or "region")
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data

If the variation is small, each variable's value will form a

bin.
Number of children Number of households
0 90
1 187
2 326
3 152
4 70
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data

If the variation is large, you need to group numbers of more-or-less

continuous values into a smaller number of "bins".
Equal Width Binning: Bins have equal width with a range of each bin
Productivity (product/hour) Number of workers
[30; 35) 5
[35; 40) 10
[40; 45) 19
[45; 50) 13
[50; 55) 3
Total 50
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data

Fixed Width Binning: you can specify a value used to calculate the
“width” of the bin.
Revenue (million VND) Number of enterprises
< 1000 5
[1000; 2000) 15
[2000; 3000) 27
[3000; 4000) 13
≥ 4000 10
Total 60
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data in SPSS

To convert continuous data

(using interval or ratio scale)
into categorical data (using
ordinal scale);
Choose
"Transform"→"Visual
Binning"
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data in SPSS

Select a variable with

"Scale" measure into
"Variables to
Bin"→Click
"Continue"
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data in SPSS

Name the variable after binning
(called "Binned Variable")
The default label for the
variable after binning will be
"Variable Name (Binned)"
Remember the min & max
value of the variable when
binning
Choose "Make Cutpoints"
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data in SPSS

Choose "Equal Width Intervals"
If the width of a bin is called "h",
then: (Xmin+h)
 First Cutpoint Location: (Xmax-Xmin)/h
h
(Xmin+h)
 Number of Cutpoints:
(Xmax-Xmin)/h
(round up)
 Width: h
→ Apply
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Binning continuous data in SPSS

Choose "Make Labels" to
automatically create labels
for each bin;
Click "OK";
SPSS will annouce that
"binning specifications
will create 1 variable".
Click "OK" to complete.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating frequency tables

Frequency Percentage Cummulative Cummulative

Value
fi (%) frequency percentage
X1 f1 d1 f1 d1
X2 f1 d2 f1+f2 d1+d2
... ... ... ... ...
Xk fk dk f1+f2+...+fk d1+d2+...+dk
Total n 100
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating frequency tables

Example of the number of calls per hour to the customer service center
Frequency Percentage Cummulative Cummulative
24-hour time
(number of calls) (%) frequency percentage
[2; 5) 3 6.3 3 6.3

[5; 8) 4 8.3 7 14.6

[8; 11) 11 22.9 18 37.5

[11; 14) 13 27.1 31 64.6

[14; 17) 9 18.8 40 83.4

[17; 20) 6 12.5 46 95.9

[20; 23) 2 4.1 48 100

Total 48 100
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 1 variable in SPSS

Choose "Analyze"→"Descriptive Statistics"→"Frequencies"

Note: can use for both categorical and continuous data.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 1 variable in SPSS

Example of the frequency table for "Do tuoi" after equal

width binning
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 1 variable in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 2 variables

EX: Monthly spending of 200 students in 3 regions (i.e. North, Central

and South of Vietnam)

Million VND
Spending
Region <1.5 1.5 – 2 >2
North 30 40 20
Central 30 20 10
South 10 25 15
Total 70 85 45
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 2 variables in SPSS

Choose "Analyze"→"Descriptive Statistics"→"Crosstabs"

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 2 variables in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Creating a frequency table for 2 variables in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Drawing charts in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Histogram is used to display a
continuous variable (using "scale"
measure). This chart consists of a
series of rectangles drawn side by
side without any space between
them;
One of its axis must represent the
frequency;
Histogram also helps observe the
distribution of a variables (e.g.
comparison with a normal
distribution).
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Frequency polygon is a
line graph of class
frequency plotted against
class midpoint. It can be
obtained by joining the
midpoints of the tops of
the rectangles in the
histogram.
Only use for continuous
variable .
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Bar chart compares different
categories of data using
rectangular bars that represent
the value of the data (for
categorical variable);
After binning, continuous data
will be converted into
categorical data (using an
ordinal scale). Thus you do NOT
analyse the distribution of the
variable with a bar chart.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Pie chart is a circular
statistical graphic which is
divided into slices to
illustrate numerical
proportions;
Only use for categorical
variables, and thus should
display a corresponding
percentage for each slice.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Line chart is used to
display a continuous
variable;
Suitable for displaying
time-series data
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Box and whisker plot: is a graph that
exhibits data from a five-number
summary, including: 1/ Minimum value; Min=2 Median = 12 Max=28
2/ Q1 or 1st Quartile; 3/ Median or Q2 or
25% 25%
2nd Quartile; 4/ Q3 or 3rd Quartile; 5/ 25% 25%
Maximum value;
If the box are at the center → the data is
symmetric around the median;
Only use for a continuous variable.
Min Q1 Median Q3 Max
25% 25%
25% 25%
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

Stem-and-Leaf Plot: is a diagram that quickly summarises data while maintaining the
individual data points.
EX: Statistical results on productivity (product/hour) of 17 workers are as follows:
44; 46; 47; 49; 63; 64; 66; 68; 68; 72; 72; 75; 76; 81; 84; 88; 106

Frequency Stem Leaf

4 4 4679 Key: 4|4 = 44 product/hour

0 5 Leaf unit: 1.0
5 6 34688 Stem unit: 10.0
4 7 2256
3 8 148
0 9
1 10 6
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 1 variable in SPSS

 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 2 variable in SPSS

Stacked bar chart is a
form of bar chart that
shows the composition
and comparison of a few
variables, either relative
or absolute, over time.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 2 variable in SPSS

Population pyramid is a
graphical illustration of
the distribution of a
population by age groups
and sex.
 DISPLAYING NUMERICAL DATA

Statistical chart for 2 variable in SPSS

Scatter Diagram is a
graph in which the values
of two variables are
plotted along two axes,
and the pattern of the
resulting points revealing
any correlation present..
 HOMEWORK

Each group chooses its own statistical survey

topic.
Tasks for each group:
1/ Collect data relating to the chosen topic (the
data must have at least 3 variables and the
number of observations is at least 30);
2/ Create a frequency table for each variable;
3/ Draw a suitable graph for each variable.