Tabulation

Tables are normally used to break down the data you have ordered and grouped so that you can distinguish and examine different variables.

Types of tables include:

• Informative/classifying tables contain systematically arranged data for record purposes; they are not intended for comparisons, relationships or significance of figures.
• Reference tables contain all summarised information relevant to the subject in question. Usually long alphabetical lists.
• Text/summary tables are usually found in reports/reference books. They only show information relevant to the question being asked.
• Frequency distribution tables are used to organise and summarise data and show how often each value or group of values occurs. The data are grouped into class intervals according to the same observable characteristic together with the number of observed values or frequencies that fall into each class interval.

The basic rules of tabulation are:

• The title should be brief and should state precisely what is contained in the table.
• Essential additional information referring to the table should be included in a title note.
• Information that refers to a single item only should appear in a footnote.
• The source note explains where the data came from. It should be placed at the bottom of the table.
• All rows and/or columns should be headed with clear, explanatory titles.
• Margins should be left around the edge of the table and, for neatness, the whole table should preferably be contained in a frame.
• Certain figures, such as totals, should be highlighted.
• Tables should not be overloaded – rather separate the data into two tables.
• Tables should be easy to read.

Frequency Distribution Tables

Raw data is meaningless. Data must be processed to be useful for a manager. Tabulating data in a frequency distribution increases our ability to detect a pattern and meaning.

A frequency distribution table is a summary of numerical data organised and presented in the form of class intervals and frequencies. The result is that we lose the detail of individual values, but a more general pattern will be shown.

Example:

The number of customer complaints received each day over a period of 10 days is:

6, 14, 15, 4, 15, 17, 6, 18, 15, 15

Frequency is the number of times a particular value occurs.

In 4 days (frequency of 4) 15 complaints were received. 13 complaints occurred only once.