GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF DATA

INTRODUCTION

“A Picture in worth a thousand words.” Graphic representation is way of analyzing

numerical data. A Graph is a sort of graph through which statistical data are represented in the
form of lines or curves drown across the coordinated points plotted on surface.

THE MAIN REASON FOR USING GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION

 It is the most convenient and appealing way in which statistical results may be presented

 It gives an overall view of entire data

 It is visually more attractive than other ways of representing data

 It is easier to understand and memorize data through graphical representation.

 It facilitates comparison of data relating to different periods of time of different origins.

CONSTRUCTING DIAGRAMS/GRAPHS

The following features must be essentially kept in mind while constructing a diagram or

graph:

 It should have a title and index.

 The proportion between width and height should be balanced.

 The selection of scale must be appropriate.

 Footnotes may be included wherever it is needed

 .Principle of simplicity must be kept in mind.

 Neatness and cleanliness in construction of graph must be ensured.

TYPES OF DIAGRAM AND GRAPHS

The commonly used diagrams and graphs in the presentation of data of the research studies are

 Bar diagram

 Pie diagram

 Histogram

 Frequency polygon

 Line graphs

 Cumulative frequency curve

 Scattered diagrams

 Pictograms

 Map diagrams etc

BAR DIAGRAM

 It is a convenient graphical device that is particularly useful for displaying nominal or

ordinal data.

 It is an easy method adopted for visual comparison of the magnitude of different

frequencies.

 Length of the bars drawn vertically or horizontally indicates the frequency of a character.

 The bar charts are called vertical bar charts (or column charts), if the bars are placed
vertically.

 When the bars are placed horizontally, it is called horizontal bar charts.

There are three types of bar diagrams:

 Simple bar diagram

  Multiple bar diagram
 Proportion bar diagram

Some of the points to be kept in mind while making a bar diagram are as follows:

 The width of bars should be uniform throughout the diagram

 The gap between the bars should be uniform throughout.

 Bars may be vertical or horizontal.

PIE DIAGRAM/SECTOR DIAGRAM

 It is another useful pictorial device for presenting discrete data of qualitative

characteristics, such as age groups, genders, and occupational groups in a population.

 The total area of the circle represents the entire data under consideration.
  Researcher must remember that only percentage data must be used to prepare pie
diagrams.

 It gives comparative differences at a glance.

 Size of each angle is calculated by multiple class percentages with 360° or following
formula may be used

Angle calculation = class frequency

Total observation x 360

HISTOGRAM

 It is the most commonly used graphical representation of grouped frequency distribution.

 Variable characters of the different groups are indicated on the horizontal line (1-axis)
and frequencies (number of observation) are indicated on the vertical line (y-axis).

 Frequency of each group forms a column or rectangle. Such a diagram is called a

histogram.

 The area of rectangle is proportional to the frequency of the correspondence class interval
and the total area of the histogram is proportional to the total frequency of all the class
intervals.

A histogram may be drawn by using following steps:

 Set of vertical bars the areas of which are proportional to frequencies represented.
  The difference of histogram from bar diagram is that bar diagram is one dimensional and
only the length of the bar has its significance while in histogram both length and width
matters.

 When class intervals are equal, frequency is taken on y-axis, the variables on x-axis, and
adjacent rectangles are constructed.

 When the class intervals are unequal, a correction for unequal class intervals must be
made. The following frequency distribution is represented graphically in the form of a
histogram.

 Here, we will take class boundaries along the horizontal axis and frequencies along with
vertical axis. From the data shown above a histogram is drawn

FREQUENCY POLYGON

 It is the curve obtained by joining the middle top points of the rectangles in a histogram
by straight lines.

 It gives a polygon, that is figure with many angles. In this, the two end points of the line
drawn are joined to the horizontal axis at the mid-point of the empty class-intervals at
both ends of the frequency distribution.
  Frequency polygons are simple and sketch an outline of data pattern more clearly than
histograms.

 On the same axis, one can plot frequency polygons of several distributions, thereby
making comparisons possible.

A frequency polygon can be drawn by using following steps:

 Draw the histogram with the given data.

 Join the midpoints of upper horizontal sides of each rectangle with the adjacent one by a
straight line.

 Close the polygon at both ends of the distribution by extending them to base line.

 Hypothetical classes at each end would have to be included with a frequency of zero.

LINE GRAPHS

 In this, variables in the frequency polygon are depicted by a line.

It is mostly used where data is collected over a long period of time.

  On x-axis, values of independent variables are taken and values of dependent variables
are taken on y-axis. Vertical axis may not start from zero, but at some point, from where
frequency starts.

 With reference to x-and y-axis, the given data may be plotted and these consecutive
points or data are then joined by straight lines

CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVE

 This graph represents the data of a cumulative frequency distribution.

 For drawing an ogive, an ordinary frequency distribution table is converted into

cumulative frequency table.

 The cumulative frequencies are then plotted corresponding to the upper limits of the
classes.
  The points corresponding to cumulative frequency at each upper limit of the classes are
joined by a free-hand curve.

 The diagram made is called ogive

SCATTERED OR DOTTED DIAGRAMS

 It is a graphic presentation that shows the nature of correlation between two variable
characters x and y on the similar features or characteristics, for example height and
weight in men of 20 years old. Therefore, it is also called correlation diagram.

 Example of a scattered or dotted diagram is presented in

PICTOGRAMS OR PICTURE DIAGRAM

This method is used to impress the frequency of the occurrence of events to common
people, such as attacks, deaths, number of operations, admissions, accidents, and discharges in a
population .

MAP DIAGRAM

 Map diagram or spot map: These maps are prepared to show geographical distribution of
frequencies of characteristics
LIMITATIONS OF GRAPHS

 It is confusing (may be false or true)

 If presents only quantitative aspect.

 It gets information only on one aspect or on limited characteristics.

 It can present only approximate values

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1.Sharma. K.Suresh.(2020). Nursing research and statistics. (3rd) .Haryana:Reed Elsevier

India Private Limited.

2. Polit.F. Denise.(2021).Nursing research.(11th ed).New Delhi: Wolters Kluwer India

Private limited.

3.WWW. easybiology class. Com/ graphical representation data