Frequency Polygons
Author(s)
Prerequisites
Frequency polygons are a graphical device for understanding the shapes of distributions. They serve the same purpose as histograms, but are especially helpful in comparing sets of data. Frequency polygons are also a good choice for displaying cumulative frequency distributions.
To create a frequency polygon, start just as for histograms, by choosing a class interval. Then draw an X-axis representing the values of the scores in your data. Mark the middle of each class interval with a tick mark, and label it with the middle value represented by the class. Draw the Y-axis to indicate the frequency of each class. Place a point in the middle of each class interval at the height corresponding to its frequency. Finally, connect the points. You should include one class interval below the lowest value in your data and one above the highest value. The graph will then touch the X-axis on both sides.
Frequency polygons are useful for comparing distributions. This is achieved by overlaying the frequency polygons drawn for different data sets. It is also possible to plot two cumulative frequency distributions in the same graph.