Meaning & use
tabulate data
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseformal
to arrange information in rows and columns so that it can be compared or studied easily
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase with an object: tabulate data, tabulate the results. It is more formal than 'put in a table'.
Patterns
- tabulate data
- tabulate the results
- tabulate something by something
The research team tabulated data from more than 2,000 interviews.
Before writing the report, she tabulated the data by age group.
Once we tabulate the data, we can look for patterns.
phraseuncountableformaltechnical
the activity of putting information into tables for analysis
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase referring to the process, often after verbs like 'involve' or 'require'.
Patterns
- involve tabulating data
- require tabulating data
- the tabulation of data
The job involves tabulating data and checking it for errors.
Accurate tabulating data is essential before any statistical test.
Common combinations
- tabulate data by category
- We tabulated the data by category to compare the groups.
- tabulate the results
- The assistant tabulated the results in a spreadsheet.
- manually tabulate
- In the past, researchers had to manually tabulate data.
- tabulate data accurately
- It is important to tabulate data accurately to avoid mistakes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compile
- Compile means to collect information from different places; tabulate specifically means to arrange it in a table.
- organize
- Organize is more general and can mean arranging anything; tabulate is only about putting data into tables.
- chart
- Chart usually means to make a graph or diagram, while tabulate means to put data into rows and columns.
Word family
- tabulation noun
- the act or result of arranging data in tables
- tabulated adjective
- arranged in a table
Commonly confused: tabulate data or tabular?
tabulate data vs tabular
Tabular is an adjective meaning 'arranged in a table', as in 'tabular data'. Tabulate is the verb.
Practice
The researchers needed to _____ the data before they could draw any conclusions.
Choose one answer.
The sentence needs a verb after 'to', so 'tabulate' is correct. 'Tabulation' is a noun, 'tabular' is an adjective, and 'tabulating' would need a different structure like 'needed tabulating' (which is possible but less natural here).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tabulate data”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.