Chapter 3

Data processing
 Stages of the data processing
• Organization and classification of data
• Data summary
• Data presentation
The sufficient knowledge about the above stage
is necessary for the medical students, the
physicians and the health workers
 Variables and Data
A variable is any measurable quality or
characteristic of a person. For example age, sex,
and blood type are the variables. While the data
are 32 years, female and o
.
Organization and classification of data
according to the type of variable
In medical and public health a variable could
have anyone of those implications
1- according to the nature of characteristic the
variable classified into
nominal categorical variables which are not
measurable variables and
ordinary variables which is measurable variables
 categorical variables
1.1 nominal categorical variables:
is not measurable and the categories can be
ordered in any meaningful way
Example: the variables, colour of eyes, sex,
nationality, marital status
2.1 ordinary categorical variable
is not measurable and the categories can not be
ordered in any meaningful way.
Example the degree of pain
 metric variables
2- according to mathematical value, the variables
are classified to, continuous metric variables and
discrete metric variables.
1.2 continuous metric variable:
is measurable variable and can be located on the
line of real numbers.
example: the variables; height, weight, glucose
serum level, hemoglobin, viscosity of blood
 metric variables
2.2 discrete metric variables:
is a measurable variable and can be counted
and located on the line of integer numbers.
 Organization of data
The raw data compile in questionnaires must be
organized by two way
1- computations sheets: the data of each
element are written on table where the columns
used for the variables and the rows for element
No of Sex Age Weight Height tempera Hb haemat
patient ture ocrit
1 M 26 70 158 37.8 10.5 25
2 F 30 65 140 36.1 11.0 15
3 M 36 68 160 38.3 12.3 41
 Organization of data
2- simple cards: in this option a card is made for
each element with several variable at the same
time.
 classification of data
Taking in consideration the types of variable, their
classification comprises the use of different scales
of measurement. Any scale of measurement must
have two main conditions:
The first must include all the elements (exhaustive).
The second each element must be considered only
once (exclusive, classes or categories)
 Categorical data
1-categorical scales has the two types
1.1 normal scales: the normal scales groups the
elements according to the possibilities of the
characteristic.
Example: for the variable eyes colour, the data
are grouped in blue eyes, brown eyes and for
the variable sex the data are grouped as male
and female
 Categorical data
2.1 ordinal scales: groups the elements
according to a previously ordered arrangement
of characteristic.
Example; the variable is a pain, the data are
grouped as no pain, mild pain, acute pain. also
the variable smoking habit, the data are
grouped as no one, 10, 20, or more cigarette
 Metric data
Metric data has a measurement units scales and has two
types as
1.2 continuous metric scale:
always between two values exist infinite values
Example: the interval of variable heights, the data are
classed as [160 -165] cm exist the heights 160.4cm,
164.8cm
2.2 discrete metric scale: there is a gap between one
value and anther.
Example: the variable number of children in family, the
data are classed , family with no child, family with 1
child, family with 2 child and so on
 Frequency distribution
Frequency distribution: is defined as a grouping
distribution of data in different classes or
categories according to a given scale.
The class: is the characteristic by which the data
of variable are grouped.
The class interval is defined as the way in which
the characteristic of the data are used with
grouping purposes. There are two types of class
interval.
 Closed class interval
Closed class interval is having lower class limit and
upper class limit.
Class interval of continuous variable is having class
boundaries or true class limits
Example: the variable is continuous the data is real
numbers
In this class 140 – 144
139.5 is lower class boundary
144.5 is upper class boundary
 Closed class interval
In class interval of discrete variable the class
boundaries is the class limits itself.
Example: the variable is discrete the data is
integer numbers
145<150
150<155
 Open interval
Open interval has ether no upper class limit or
no lower class limit
Example:
The class of integer numbers grater than 100
The class of real numbers less than 100
Range, numbers of class and width of
class
The range is the different between the upper
and lower class boundaries of the data
Rang = Max. value of the data – Min. value of
the data.
The numbers of class interval can be find by
using Staurges equation
No. o classes = 1+3.322 Log(n)
N is the number of element of group
 Range, numbers of class and class
width
the class width can be calculated as
Class width=(range of data)/ (no. of class)

The class mark: is the midpoint of a class

interval and can be calculated as
Class mark= (upper class limit + lower class
limit)/2
The absolute frequency and relative
frequency
Cumulative frequency
General rules for making a frequency
distribution
• Identify the type of variable
• Select the classes according to data of the
variable
• Distribute each element in the corresponding
class
• Count the number of element in each class
• Calculate the relative and cumulative
frequency