Variables lab Flashcards
o phenomenon whose value remains the same from person to person, from time to time, or from place to place
o fixed value; does not change
Constant
o information on any characteristic that can vary
o its values and categories cannot be measured with certainty because it changes over time
Variable
▪ describe by features, generally by words
▪ categories are simply used as labels to distinguish
one group from another
▪ it cannot be used as basis to say that one group
is greater or lesser, higher or lower, or better or
worse than the other group
Qualitative Variable
▪ one whose categories can be measured or
ordered according to quantity or amount
▪ values can be expressed numerically
▪ involves ranking and hierarchy
Quantitative Variable
o variables that have no measurement scales and no rank order
o usually under the Qualitative Variables
o numerical values may be assigned, however it will not affect the statistical analysis
o ex. blood types, vegetable or fruit colors,
marital status
Nominal
o Binary Variables
o variables that only have two levels
o dikho- means “in two”; temnein means “to cut”
o although they are common and important, they are often inadequate by themselves to describe something fully
ex. skin color, biological gender, health status
Dichotomous
Dichotomous and Nominal Variables are sometimes called ____________ Variables because the different categories are completely separate from each other.
Discrete
o variables that can be ranked or ordered
o either Qualitative or Quantitative, depending on the objective of the data collection
o arranging variables in order or ranks makessense or matters
o usually arranged from better to worse or highest to lowest
o ex. severity of disease, physical activity
Ordinal
o values are separated by equally spaced intervals and has no true zero point
o zero is arbitrary and does not indicate the absence of the quantity being measured
o data can only be added and subtracted
o ex. temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit, IQ scores, time
Interval
o there is equal intervals between values and has true zero point
o zero means that the data has no value point
o data can be added, subtracted, divided, and multiplied
o ex. height, weight, distance, temperature in Kelvin
Ratio
