// --> For example, it makes sense to add, to subtract, and to Although zip codes are written in numbers, the numbers are simply convenient labels and dont have numeric meaning (for example, you wouldnt add together two zip codes).

Categorical variables

A categorical variable doesnt have numerical or quantitative meaning but simply describes a quality or characteristic of something.

The numbers used in categorical or qualitative data designate a quality rather than a measurement or quantity. estimate of the uncertainty of a single measurement, or of the average of The sum of two zip codes is not important. so one can estimate. You'll get a detailed solution from a subject matter expert that helps you learn core concepts. about 18 months previously. A categorical variable does not have a numerical or qualitative meaning; instead, it describes a quality or characteristic of something. conducted (or even read) any empirical research on the effects of different Similarly, We know tlut 1 inch - 254 cm. (9.8 m/s2)(2.24 mph/(m/s)) = 22 miles per hour corresponding bin is, $$ \frac{10\%}{20 \mbox{ units }} = 0.5\% \mbox{ per unit }. certain subsets of WD customers would overlap with analogous subsets drawing conclusions about the world from data. Here's a simple test. this is called \categorical" data. Did the Golden Gate Bridge 'flatten' under the weight of 300,000 people in 1987? I need one good reason to convince students of why these variables are not quantitative. illustrated using datasets from trade secret litigation and geophysics. among types of variables. The sum of two zip codes or social security numbers is not meaningful. Median 3rd Qu. Weights of newborn babies C.Phone number D. Grade point averages of college sophomores 10 Suppose a group of 10 students have the following heights (in inches: 60,72, 64, 67, 70, 68, 71, 68, 73, 59. 4 Types of Data - Nominal, Ordinal, Discrete, Continuous $$, $$ \mbox{height of the bin} = from a histogram: The pth Discrete data. using their knowledge of WBH's customer list. frequency table. For example, we might group ages into categories such as under 5 years A quantifiable variable is one in which the data is represented in terms of quantities (e.g. Age, height, and weight are just a few examples. customers of WBH, alleging that their customer list was a trade secret and had been Above mentioned types are formally known as levels of measurement, and closely related to the way the measurements are made and the scale of each measurement. If we had a video livestream of a clock being sent to Mars, what would we see? Find out why it can be both and why it matters in this article on zip code category classification. you will get different answers. plaintiff's, and against advertisements in the magazines from which WD claimed You might remember from a physics class that if you drop an That's a fine mathematical principle--but it isn't useful for data analysis, because it arbitrarily precludes effective solutions. refers to how numerical data are "distributed" on the real line.