Frequency array
Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Organisation of Data"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Use of Statistical Tools"
Meaning
A frequency array classifies a discrete variable value by value. It lists each value of the variable next to its frequency, meaning how many times that value occurs. No class intervals are used, because a discrete variable takes separate values and nothing in between. It is the discrete-data version of a frequency distribution.
Example
In a survey of household size, the frequency array lists sizes 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on in one column. Next to each size, it shows how many households have that many members.
Don't confuse with
- Frequency distribution: groups a variable, usually a continuous one such as marks or income, into classes like 0-10 and 10-20. It does not list each value separately.
Related concepts
- Raw data
- Classification
- Chronological classification
- Spatial classification
- Qualitative classification
- Quantitative classification
- Attribute
- Continuous variable
- Discrete variable
- Frequency