Back to chapter

2.7:

Ogive Graph

JoVE Core
Statistics
A subscription to JoVE is required to view this content.  Sign in or start your free trial.
JoVE Core Statistics
Ogive Graph

Languages

Share

The cumulative frequencies can be visually represented using the Ogive graph. Here, the class boundaries are given along the X-axis, and the cumulative frequencies are provided along the Y-axis. 

For example, consider a frequency table of customers who bought cameras of different price ranges. Note that the class boundaries that separate the classes without gaps are listed in the table.

To find out the number of customers who purchased the cameras that cost less than 80 dollars, a cumulative frequency for the class less than 80 is calculated. It is given by the sum of the frequencies of the current class and all the preceding classes. Similarly, the remaining cumulative frequencies are calculated.

In the graph, each point connected by a continuous line represents the cumulative frequency below the respective class boundary. For instance, ten customers bought cameras that cost less than 79.5 dollars, while 18 bought the ones costing less than 99.5.

2.7:

Ogive Graph

An ogive graph is sometimes called a cumulative frequency polygon. It is one type of frequency polygon that shows cumulative frequency. In other words, the cumulative percentages are added to the graph from left to right. An ogive graph plots cumulative frequency on the vertical y-axis and class boundaries along the horizontal x-axis. It’s very similar to a histogram; only instead of rectangles, an ogive displays a single point where the top right of the rectangle would be. Creating this type of graph from a frequency table is usually easier. It is generally used to find the median of a given data set. Apart from finding the medians, ogive graphs are used to compute the percentiles of the data set values.