The FREQUENCY function

The FREQUENCY function is a statistical function which allows you to count results by group (bin), which consists of a lower and upper range. The first bin starts at zero(0) and goes up to the first number of the bin range, the second starts at the end of the first and the process continues until the last bin which counts above and beyond the last defined range.

     
This is the format of the FREQUENCY function:

=FREQUENCY(DATA RANGE, BIN RANGE)

   
Here is an example of the FREQUENCY function:

=FREQUENCY(A1:A10,C1:C4)

This function is valuable when you want to summarise your raw data into actionable groups. It simplifies the process of defining statistics data from a survey or research study. While it performs the function of a count, its value lies in that it is incredibly easy to change the scope of each bin.

An example of a functional implementation of this would be taking customer transaction information for a set period of time and manipulating the data to gain a better understanding of who your customer is. With customer age you can build brackets from under 18 to over 65, and with gender you can assign each gender a number and build your frequency with that.

ex: customer ages is in column A, and bin ranges are in cells C3:C10

=FREQUENCY(A:A,C3:C10)

* Note that when selecting the output range of the formula, it is important to enter it as an array formula using CTL+SHIFT+ENTER *