What is frequency distribution?
If youre conducting research and youve completed a large-scale data collection, its now time to organise the data and see if you can spot any trends. Frequency distribution is one of the most effective ways to collect data in either graph or tabular form. Find out a little more about the characteristics of frequency distribution with our simple guide. Frequency distribution explained  If youre dealing with a considerable amount of data, it can be challenging to find the frequency of individual data values. Thats why frequency distribution  a basic statistical technique  can be highly useful for anyone who works in data collection. Essentially, frequency distribution can help you see the number of occurrences of distinct values within a given period. You can use frequency distribution to explore if certain occurrences are high or low, or whether theyre spread out across the scale or concentrated in one particular area. In other words, frequency distribution is a fantastic way to organise large datasets and spot trends. There are two primary forms of frequency distribution  frequency distribution tables and frequency distribution graphs. Now, lets explore these in a little more detail:  Frequency distribution tables and graphs  To understand how frequency distribution tables and graphs work in practice, lets look at an example. Imagine that youve conducted a survey, asking 20 of your best customers which payment method is best for their needs. Youve received the following answers (in reality, frequency distribution would be used for considerably larger datasets):  Credit Card, Direct Debit, Direct Debit, Credit Card, Digital Wallet, Direct Debit, Cryptocurrency, Cash/Cheque, Direct Debit, Standing Order, Credit Card, Cash/Cheque, Direct Debit, Digital Wallet, Bacs Transfer, Direct Debit, Direct Debit, Credit Card, Credit Card, Standing Order  The frequency of each answer may not be immediately apparent, which is why you should use a frequency distribution table to gain a better understanding of the data:  Payment Method Number Direct Debit 7 Credit Card 5 Digital Wallet 2 Bacs Transfer 1 Standing Order 2 Cash/Cheque 2 Cryptocurrency 1 Total 20  As we can see from this frequency distribution table, Direct Debit and Credit Card payments are by far the most popular answers. For a more visual representation of the same dataset, we can use a frequency distribution graph (weve selected a bar chart):  Frequency distribution in business  Now that you know a little more about how frequency distribution tables and graphs work, lets think about their application in the world of business. As in the example above, surveys and reports are often used in market research, a strategy used in several areas of business, i.e., monitoring the competition, conducting customer surveys, analysing industry trends, testing products and services, using focus groups, identifying your target market, and so on. However, once youve collected the data, its essential to display it in such a way that it helps you to understand what it means for your business. Thinking again of the example above, the data strongly indicates that your customers prefer Direct Debit. If youre not already using a Direct Debit payment solution like GoCardless, this research is a strong argument in favour of starting. However, you may not have known that this was something that your customers were crying out for if you hadnt been able to ascertain the frequency of their responses. Hence the potential importance of frequency distribution for businesses. We can help  GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.