How to Determine Histogram Bin Count Using Sturges' Formula
This article explains how to calculate the number of bins for a frequency distribution histogram using Sturges' formula, illustrating the process with a sample of 50 data points where the maximum value is 980 and the minimum is 500, and shows how to derive the bin width.
The number of bins (groups) in a frequency distribution histogram can be calculated using Sturges' formula:
k = 1 + log₂(n) ≈ 1 + 3.322 log₁₀(n), where n is the number of data points.
For example, with 50 data points the estimated number of bins is about 7.
The bin width is obtained by dividing the data range (maximum value minus minimum value) by the number of bins calculated with Sturges' formula.
In the example, the maximum value is 980, the minimum is 500, so the range is 480. Dividing by the estimated 7 bins gives a bin width of roughly 68.6.
Reference
Takashi Takahashi, translated by Chen Gang. Comic Statistics . Science Press, 2009.
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