ABSTRACT
One of the major problems in dealing with data in the social sciences is that very often there are so many of them. So many, in fact, that in their raw form it is almost impossible just to look at the data and gain very much in the way of understanding. Continuous variable values are such that, except for small samples, they are almost always presented in the form of grouped frequency tables. Values for some essentially continuous variables are given in a discrete form, and one must be careful in one’s treatment of them. Age is a good example of a continuous variable frequently treated in this way. Observations on continuous variables must generally be put in the form of grouped frequency tables because it is most likely that very few observations will occur more than just a few times, many perhaps only occurring once.
