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Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data

June 11, 2018 Posted by Lithmee

The key difference between time series and cross sectional data is that the time series data focuses on the same variable over a period of time while the cross sectional data focuses on several variables at the same point of time. Furthermore, the time series data consist of observations of a single subject at multiple time intervals whereas, the cross sectional data consist of observations of many subjects at the same point in time.

Fields such as Statistics, Econometrics gathers data and analyze them. Data is a vital aspect of activities such as for research, predictions and proving theories. There are various types of data. Two of them are time series and cross sectional data.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Time Series Data
3. What is Cross Sectional Data
4. Side by Side Comparison – Time Series vs Cross Sectional Data in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Time Series Data?

Time series data focuses on observations of a single individual at different times usually at uniform intervals. It is the data of the same variable over a period of time such as months, quarters, years etc. The time series data takes the form of Xt. The t represents the time. Below is an example of the profit of an organization over a period of 5 years’ time. Profit is the variable that changes each year.

Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data

Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data Fig 2

Usually, time series data is useful in business applications. Time measurement can be months, quarters or years but it can also be any time interval. Generally, the time has uniform intervals.

What is Cross Sectional Data?

In cross sectional data, there are several variables at the same point in time. Data set with maximum temperature, humidity, wind speed of few cities on a single day is an example of a cross sectional data.

Key Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data

Another example is the sales revenue, sales volume, number of customers and expenses of an organization in the past month. Cross sectional data takes the form of Xi. Expanding the data from several months will convert the cross sectional data to time series data.

What is the Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data?

Time series data consist of observations of a single subject at multiple time intervals. Cross sectional data consist of observations of many subjects at the same point in time. Time series data focuses on the same variable over a period of time. On the other hand, cross sectional data focuses on several variables at the same point in time. This is the main difference between time series and cross sectional data.

Profit of an organization over a period of 5 years’ time is an example for a time series data while maximum temperature of several cities on a single day is an example for a cross sectional data.

Difference Between Time Series and Cross Sectional Data in Tabular Form

Summary – Time Series vs Cross Sectional Data

The difference between time series and cross sectional data is that time series data focuses on the same variable over a period of time while cross sectional data focuses on several variables at the same point of time. Different data types use different analyzing methods. Therefore, it is important to identify the correct type of the data.

Reference:

1.“Cross-Sectional Data.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 May 2018. Available here 

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Difference Between Fiscal and Monetary Policy Difference Between Economics and Finance Difference Between Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply Difference Between Cartel and Monopoly Difference Between Short Run and Long Run

Filed Under: Economics

About the Author: Lithmee

Lithmee Mandula is a BEng (Hons) graduate in Computer Systems Engineering. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Science. Her areas of interests in writing and research include programming, data science, and computer systems.

Comments

  1. zerihun mulat says

    February 14, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    it is best but the analysis is short

    Reply
  2. zerihun mulat says

    February 14, 2022 at 8:21 pm

    it is well but having an included type of data(pooled/panel data)

    Reply

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