American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Practice Exam

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What is the primary purpose of a frequency distribution in research?

  1. To provide a graphical representation of data

  2. To organize data for easier interpretation

  3. To calculate the mean of a dataset

  4. To determine the mode of data points

The correct answer is: To organize data for easier interpretation

The primary purpose of a frequency distribution in research is to organize data for easier interpretation. A frequency distribution tabulates the number of times each value occurs within a dataset, allowing researchers to see patterns, identify trends, and understand the distribution of the data more easily. By presenting data in a structured format, it aids in the analysis process, making it simpler to derive insights and make informed decisions based on the data's characteristics. While other options like providing a graphical representation or calculating statistical measures like the mean and mode are relevant to data analysis, those functions are secondary to the fundamental goal of organizing the information. Graphical representations, such as histograms or bar charts, can be created from a frequency distribution, but the initial focus is on data organization. Similarly, while frequency distributions can assist in calculating the mean and determining the mode, they do not serve those purposes as their primary objective.