Variable

Zaira Soloman

Objective

1.
2.
3.

After the end of this lecture you will be

able to:
Define variable
Enlist and understand its Scale
Differentiate between its types.

Variable
It is quantities which can be vary

from one individual to another. For

example, animal of same species
may differ in their height, weight,
age, sex, etc. these
characteristics are variables.
Thus,

variable can be defines as

the characteristics by which
individual differ among
themselves.
The particular value of a variable
are termed as variate.
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More Definitions

Constant: a characteristic that cannot vary

among subjects in a population.

Scale: the possible values of a variable.

Variable Scale

1.Nominal Scales

Nominal Scales - there must be distinct classes but these classes

have no quantitative properties. Therefore, no comparison can be
made in terms of one category being higher than the other.

For example - there are two classes for the variable gender -- males
and females. There are no quantitative properties for this variable or
these classes and, therefore, gender is a nominal variable.

Other Examples:

country of origin
biological sex (male or female)
animal or non-animal
married vs. single

2. Ordinal Scales

Ordinal Scales - there are distinct classes but these

classes have a natural ordering or ranking. The
differences can be ordered on the basis of magnitude.

For example - final position of horses in a thoroughbred

race is an ordinal variable. The horses finish first,
second, third, fourth, and so on. The difference between
first and second is not necessarily equivalent to the
difference between second and third, or between third
and fourth.

Ordinal Scales Example

Does not assume that the intervals between numbers are

equal

Example:
finishing place in a race (first place, second place)
1st place

1 hour

2 hours

2nd place 3rd place

3 hours

4 hours

4th place

5 hours

6 hours

7 hours

8 hours

3. Interval Scales

Interval Scales - it is possible to compare differences in

magnitude, but importantly the zero point does not have a
natural meaning. It captures the properties of nominal and
ordinal scales -- used by most psychological tests.

Designates an equal-interval ordering - The distance between,

for example, a 1 and a 2 is the same as the distance between a
4 and a 5

Example - Celsius temperature is an interval variable. It is

meaningful to say that 25 degrees Celsius is 3 degrees hotter
than 22 degrees Celsius, and that 17 degrees Celsius is the
same amount hotter (3 degrees) than 14 degrees Celsius.
Notice, however, that 0 degrees Celsius does not have a natural
meaning. That is, 0 degrees Celsius does not mean the
absence of heat!
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4. Ratio Scales

Ratio Scales - Captures the properties of the

other types of scales, but also contains a true
zero, which represents the absence of the
quality being measured.

For example - heart beats per minute has a very

natural zero point. Zero means no heart beats.
Weight (in grams) is also a ratio variable. Again,
the zero value is meaningful, zero grams means
the absence of weight.

Example:

0 quite literally means none

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Scale review

Nominal scales--qualitative, not quantitative

distinction (no absolute zero, not equal intervals,
not magnitude)

Ordinal scales--ranking individuals (magnitude,

but not equal intervals or absolute zero)

Interval scales--scales that have magnitude and

equal intervals but not absolute zero

Ratio scales--have magnitude, equal intervals,

and absolute zero (so can compute ratios)
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Test Your Knowledge:

Select the highest appropriate level of measurement:

Educational Level:

1 = Some High school

2 =High school Diploma
3 = Undergraduate Degree
4 = Masters Degree
5 = Doctorate Degree

a) Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d) Rati

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Select the highest appropriate level of

measurement:

Number of questions asked during a class

lecture

a) Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d) Ratio

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A professor is interested in the relationship

between the number of times students are
absent from class and the letter grade that
students receive on the final exam. He
records the number of absences for each
student, as well as the letter grade
(A,B,C,D,F) each student earns on the final
exam. In this example, what is the
measurement scale for number of absences?

Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d) Ratio

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In the previous example, what is the

measurement scale of letter grade on the
final exam?

a) Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d) Ratio

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A researcher is interested in studying the effect

of room temperature in degrees Fahrenheit on
productivity of automobile assembly workers.
She controls the temperature of the three
manufacturing facilities, such that employees in
one facility work in a room temperature of 60
degrees, employees in another facility work in a
room temperature of 65 degrees, and the last
group works in a room temperature of 70
degrees. The productivity of each group is
indicated by the number of automobiles
produced each day. In this example, what is the
measurement scale of room temperature?

a) Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d)Ratio

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In the previous example, what is the

measurement scale of productivity?

a) Nominal

b) Ordinal c) Interval d) Ratio

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Variable Types

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TYPE Of VARIABLE :
Variables can be classified
1. Qualitative(categorical)
Qualitative variables take on values that
are names or labels. The color of a ball
(e.g., red, green, blue)

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2. Quantitative.
Quantitative variables are numeric. Is a
characteristic which can be measured on
a scale in some appropriate units, e.g.,
measurement of age, weight, length, etc.
1.
2.

Quantitative variables can be further

Discrete
Continuous

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Discrete or Discontinue
Variable
Is one in which is incapable of taking all

possible values, e.g., the number of

rooms or the number of persons in a
family can take only integral values such
as 2,3,4,6.
Here a count of 2 is not possible.

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Conti..
Suppose we flip a coin and count the
number of heads. The number of heads
could be any integer value between 0
and plus infinity. However, it could not be
any number between 0 and plus infinity.
We could not, for example, get 2.3
heads. Therefore, the number of heads
must be a discrete variable.

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Continuous variable:

Continuous variable Is one

which can take any numerical
value within a certain rang,
e.g., the height of a child at
various ages when he grows
from 120cm to 150 cm,
assume all possible values
with in the limit even in
fractions.
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January 16, 2016

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Thank you

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