A histogram is a method that uses bars to display count or frequency data. The independent variable consists of interval- or ratio-level data and is usually displayed on the abscissa (x-axis), and the frequency data on the ordinate (y-axis), with the height of the bar proportional to the count. If the data for the independent variable are put into “bins” (e.g., ages 0–4, 5–9, 10–14, etc.), then the width of the bar is proportional to the width of the bin. Most often, the bins are of equal size, but this is not a requirement. A histogram differs from a bar chart in two ways. First, the independent variable in a bar chart consists of either nominal (i.e., named, unordered categories, such as religious affiliation) or ...

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