Data Interpretation problems on TABLES - 1
Introduction data tables in data interpretation:
Data Table is one
of the most frequently asked questions in the data interpretation section of most
of the competitive examinations like CAT, Bank Tests, GRE, and GMAT. Usually
questions are asked on single data type and multiple data type questions.
Tabulation is a very common method of representing data.
Tables are one
of the easiest and most accurate ways of representing the data in non-graphical
manner. Tables are very easier than other graphs (pie charts, bar charts, line
charts etc) to extract information.
Any numerical data relating
to any type of business or real-time situation can be generally represented in
the form of a table.
Table: A table is the easiest, simplest and efficient for users to summarize data in a
meaningful way. A table consists of rows and columns; it presents data
systematically in the form of rows and columns.
Arrangement of data in
tables:
In the tabular form of the data, information
or the facts and figures are arranged in the chronological or alphabetical
order.
A table consists of
several boxes with information inside. The first row and the first column are
generally used to denote the titles.
Important points to
observe in the data table :
Students
must
observe the following parts of the table while reading the data or contents of
the table in data interpretation questions:
Title of the table: Study
the title of the table carefully that gives you a description of the contents
of the table, kinds of data and the period for which it occurred.
Column heading: Column heading defines
the information contained in various columns and also specifies the unit of
measurement in a few cases.
Head Note and footnotes: The unit of measurement
is specified in the headnotes, footnotes are used to point out any exceptions
in arriving at the data and the description given about the table in headnotes
or footnotes are very important to solve the given questions accurately. And
also, the description given in head or footnotes is very prominent to solve the given
questions in data interpretations section.
Blanks or Dashes: This is one important thing
a student must observe very carefully.
A dash or the blank indicates that corresponding data is not available
If you are
arranging data in the form of a table, remember that the zero is always
indicated by 0. A dash or blank should never be indicated as zero
Tips and techniques to solve the questions on Data Table Chart in
Data Interpretation section of a competitive examination:
1.
Read instructions
carefully before you begin solving the questions :
Test takers should understand the instructions or head
notes are given so that, students can save time by not making calculations when they
are not necessary and also to get
exactly what is the answer that is sought? And reading instructions may help
students to know more about the table and its contents.
2.
Read the contents of the
data table carefully :
Read the contents of the given data table very
carefully because the smallest detail may change the meaning of the question
completely. And the units of content given the table is also very important.
3.
Understand the data carefully:
Test
takers should understand the data given in the table, before going to answer
the problems on that data table in data interpretation questions. Test takers
may get direct questions and some questions may be indirect questions.
Sometimes the questions are made to be deceptive and proper understanding of
the data and understanding the of the questions is a must. If more than one
chart is given in the data interpretation question, try to understand the
relation between the charts. (If two tables are given, the student should try to
understand the relation between the tables and contents before going to attempt
questions)
For Example, one table may talk about the total number
of students appeared, while the other table may talk about the ratio of male and
female students qualified. Hence, any question on the number of students qualified will require data from both tables.
4.
Be careful of units of the data in the tables :
Students
should be very careful of the units used in the tables, and the units in which
the answers (options) are provided. A mistake in the units may give an entirely
different answer. For example, the speed of the vehicles may be in kmph in
tables but in mps in answers. And the length
of the object may be in meters but in cm in answers.