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PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Competency

 Presents and interprets data in tabular or graphical forms (CS_RS12-IId-g-2)

Short Discussion

Presentation of data is of utter importance nowadays. After all everything that’s

pleasing to our eyes never fails to grab our attention. Presentation of data refers to an
exhibition or putting up data in an attractive and useful manner such that it can be easily
interpreted. To be able to create and present an organized picture of information from a
research report, it is important to use certain techniques to communicate findings and
interpretations of research studies into visual forms. The common techniques being used to
display data results are tabular, textual and graphical methods. All these provide an initial
analysis of data.

Interpretation is the process of making sense of numerical data that has been
collected, analyzed, and presented. It takes the results of analysis, makes inferences
pertinent to the research relations studied, and draws conclusions about these relations.
Data interpretation can be done through direct visual observations of raw data, after
organizing the data in tables, after making graphical representations, after calculations
using numerical/statistical methods or after mathematical modelling.

METHODS IN PRESENTING DATA

1. Textual Presentation of Data

Textual presentations use words, statements or paragraphs with numerals, numbers

or measurements to describe data. They can be used independently to describe the data
when there are very few quantities or numbers. They can also be used to compare data
using paragraphs for the discussion. Here are some examples:

There are 42, 036 barangays in the Philippines. The largest barangay in terms of
population size is Barangay is Barangay 176 in Caloocan City with 247 thousand persons.
It is followed by Commonwealth in Quezon City (198, 285) and Batasan Hills in Quezon
City (161, 409). Twelve other barngays posted a population size of more than a hundred
thousand persons.
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2. Tabular Presentation of Data

A table facilitates representation of even large amounts of data in an attractive and

easy to read manner. It presents clear and organized data. A table must be clear and
simple but complete. A good table should include the following parts:

 Table number and title – These are placed above the table. The title is
usually written right after the table number.
 Caption subhead – This refers to columns and rows
 Body- It contains all the data under each subhead
 Source- It indicates if the data is secondary and it should be acknowledge.

Example

Table 1
Ages of Individuals in Various Employment Sectors

Employment 18-25 Age Group 26-35 Age Group 36-45 Age Group
Sector
Agriculture 3 8 12
Education 10 15 15
Health 15 28 35
Law 3 5 6
Manufacturing 15 23 32
Retail 30 12 8
Others 25 16 10

Sample Tabular Presentation with Textual Analysis

Table 2

Profile of Students According to Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 120 40%
Female 180 60%
Total 300 100%

Interpretation: Among the 300 respondents, 120 (40%) are males and 180 (60%)
are females.
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3. Graphical Methods of Presenting Data

A graph or chart portrays the visual presentation of data using symbols such as
lines, dots, bars or slices. It depicts the trend of a certain set of measurements or shows
comparison between two or more sets of data or quantities.

Charts and graphs are very useful in simplifying the presentation of research
reports. They help students and researchers understand data quickly and interestingly.
A good graph or chart shows that the x and y axis has a heading and units are included.
The figure number and title are usually placed before the figure. The known value is
plotted on the x-axis and the measured value is plotted on the y-axis. This description of
a good chart excludes pie charts.

Some examples of charts/graphs are discussed below. Guidelines and examples

are provided to guide you on deciding what type of graph or chart to use in presenting
research reports.

a. Line Graph – a graphical presentation of data that shows a continuous change or

trend It may show an ascending or descending trend.

Example 1

The National Statistics Office (NSO) released the following data on the rates of
unemployment from 2001 to 2010.

14.00%

12.00%

10.00%

8.00%

6.00%

4.00%

2.00%

0.00%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Figure 2: Rates of Unemployment: 2001-2010

Data Source: National Statistics (NSO)

2001- 11.1 %
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2002- 11.4 %
2003- 11.4 %
2004- 11.8% The figure shows that during the years 2001-2004, the
2005- 7.8% rates of unemployment were over 11%. The decline came in
2006-8.0% 2005 (-4%); a small decline in 2006-2007 (.7%) and
2007-7.3% unemployment rates were almost the same in 2008-2010.
2008-7.4%
2009- 7.5%
2010- 7.4%

Double Line Graph

You can use line graphs to show comparisons of events, situations or

information. A double line graph has two lines connecting points to show continuous
change in the data over time. Similar to a single line graph, the lines can ascend or
descend in a double line graph. A double line graph includes a key, which represents
the information, event and situation being observed.

Illustrative Example

90
80
Figure
70
3
60
Labor
50
Force
40
30
20
10
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Female Male
Participation: 2005-2013

Data Source: National Statistics Office (NSO)

The double line graph was based on the following data:

Female Male
2005 49.8 79.8
2006 48.8 79.1
2007 48.2 78.3
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2008 48.6 78.9

2009 49.3 78.8
2010 49.7 78.9
2011 52.2 80.4
2012 49.7 78.3
2013 49.8 78.1

Labor force participation for females from 2005-2013 ranged from 48.2-49.8
while that of the males ranged from 78.1-79.8.

b. Bar Graph or Bar Chart

A bar graph uses bar to compare categories of data. It may be drawn vertically
or horizontally. A vertical bar graph is best to use when comparing means or
percentages between distinct categories. The categories are measured independently
and compared with one another. A horizontal bar graph may contain more than 5
categories. A bar graph is plotted on either the x-axis or y-axis. The categories may be
plotted on one axis while the other axis contains the numerical values that represent the
data being measured.

Vertical Bar Graph

Illustrative Example

30

25

20

15

10

0
Visit friends/ Leisure/tourism Work-related Personal/ Conferences/ Petitioned by
relatives Business Seminars relatives

Figure 4: Reasons Why People Travel Abroad

In this illustrative example, 100 respondents were requested to select one distinct
option for reasons why they travel, making its cross analysis with number of
respondents. Among the 100 respondents, 26 answered visit friends/relatives, 25 work
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related, 20 leisure/tourism, 12 conference, 10 personal/business, and 7 petitioned by

relatives.

Horizontal Graph

Illustrative Example

2008

2003

2000

1994

1990
82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98

Female Male

Basic Literacy Rates, Philippines: 1990-2008

Source: pcw.gov.ph

In this illustrative example, it showed the percentage of the literacy rate between
male and female from year 1990-2008. The graph was based on the following data.

Year Female Male

1990 93.2 94
1994 94 93.7
2000 92.3 92
2003 90.4 86.8
2008 96.1 95.1

c. Pie Chart or Circle Graphs

A pie chart is usually used to show how parts of a whole compare to each other
and to the whole. The entire circle represents the total, and the parts are proportional to
the amount of the total they represent.

The amount going to each part is expressed as a percentage; then, a circle is

divided into pieces proportional to the percentage of each category. This is done by
multiplying the percentage by 360 degrees.

Illustrative Example
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2013 COMELEC Registrants by Age Group

Age Group Frequency Percentage

18-21 9, 505, 241 16%
22-30 13, 204, 083 23%
31-39 11, 319, 005 19%
40-48 9, 293, 972 16%
49-59 8, 340, 075 14%
60-above 6, 834, 712 12%

12% 16%

14%

23%

16%

19%

18-21 22-30 31-39 40-48 49-59 60-above

Figure 5: COMELEC Registrants by Age Group

Source: pcw.gov.ph

The chart showed the percentage of COMELEC Registrants by age group.

Twenty three percent (23%) belong to 22-30 years old, nineteen percent (19%) to 31-39
years old, sixteen percent (16 %) to 18-21 years old and 40-48 years old, fourteen
percent (14%) to 49-59 years old, and twelve (12%) to 60 years old and above.

Generalization

The important point/s of this Self Learning Kit (SLK) is/are listed below.

 Turning reports/results of your study into visual forms using certain techniques is
but important to have a concrete, organized and complete presentation and
interpretation of data. The three common techniques used to display data results
are tabular, textual and graphical methods.
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Assessment/ Application

Part I

Instructions: Answer the following questions. Use separate sheet if needed.

1. Describe briefly the three methods used in presenting data or results.

2. What do you think could be the best method in presenting research reports? Why do
you say so?

Part II

Instructions: Given the following data, make a data presentation with interpretation by
using any method applicable to the given data. (Use MSWord and print your answer in a
long bond paper.)

An information sheet is distributed to 300 junior and senior high school students
of a certain school to gather data on background of the students as to the
socioeconomic status as measured by monthly family income.

Socio-Economic Status Number of Males (f) Percentage (p)

Below Average 30 25%
Middle 66 55%
Above Average 24 20%
Total 120 100%

Socio-Economic Status Number of Females (f) Percentage (p)

Below Average 45 25%
Middle 108 60%
Above Average 27 15%
Total 180 100%

Socio-Economic Status Total Respondents Percentage (p)

Below Average 75 25%
Middle 174 58%
Above Average 51 17%
Total 300 100%
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References

Prieto, Nelia, et al. 2017. Practical Research for Senior High School 2 Quantitative.
Published by LORIMAR PUBLISHING, INC.