Types of Variables

Objective:

Students should be able to identify the different types

of variables, and know the characteristics of each type

Types of Variables
Categorical (data that are counted)
Nominal
Ordinal
Quantitative or Numerical (data that
are measured)
Interval
Ratio

Why is the type of variable important?

The methods used to display, summarize, and analyze data depend on whether the variables are categorical or
quantitative.

Types of Variables:
Categorical
Nominal
Variables that are named, i.e. classified into one or
more qualitative categories that describe the
characteristic of interest

no ordering of the different categories

no measure of distance between values
categories can be listed in any order without
affecting the relationship between them

Nominal variables are the simplest type of

Nominal
In medicine, nominal variables are often
used to describe the patient. Examples of
nominal variables might include:

Gender (male, female)

Surgical outcome (dead, alive)

Eye color (blue, brown, green,

hazel)
Blood type (A, B, AB, O)

Note: When only two possible categories exist, the variable is

sometimes called dichotomous, binary, or binomial.

Ordinal
Variables that have an inherent order to the
relationship
among the different categories

an implied ordering of the categories

(levels)

quantitative distance between levels is

unknown

distances between the levels may not be

the same

Note: The scale of measurement for most ordinal variables is called a

Likert scale.
meaning of different
levels may not be

the same for different individuals

Ordinal
In medicine, ordinal variables often describe
the patients characteristics, attitude,
behavior, or status. Examples of ordinal
variables might include:

Stage of cancer (stage I, II, III, IV)

Education level (elementary, secondary, college)
Pain level (mild, moderate, severe)
Satisfaction level (very dissatisfied, dissatisfied,
neutral, satisfied, very satisfied)

Agreement level (strongly disagree, disagree,

neutral, agree, strongly agree)

Types of Variables:
Quantitative/Numerica
l
Interval
Variables that have constant, equal
distances between values, but the zero point
is arbitrary.
Examples of interval variables:

Intelligence (IQ test score of 100, 110,

120, etc.)

Pain level (1-10 scale)

Ratio
Variables have equal intervals between
values, the zero point is meaningful, and the
numerical relationships between numbers is
meaningful.
Examples of ratio variables:

Weight (50 kilos, 100 kilos, 150 kilos,

etc.)

Pulse rate
Respiratory rate

Levels of
Measurement

Higher level variables can always be expressed at a lower

level, but the reverse is not true.

For example, Body Mass Index (BMI) is typically

measured at an interval-level such as 23.4.

BMI can be collapsed into lower-level Ordinal categories

such as:

>30: Obese

25-29.9: Overweight

<25: Underweight

or Nominal categories such as:

Overweight

Not overweight

Discrete Data
Quantitative or Numerical variables that are
measured in each individual in a data set,
but can only be whole numbers.
Examples are counts of objects or
occurrences:

Number of children in
household
Number of relapses
Number of admissions to a
hospital

Continuous Data
Quantitative or Numerical variables that are
measured in each individual in a data set.
Continuous variables can theoretically take on
an infinite number of values - the accuracy of
the measurement is limited only by the
measuring instrument.
Note: Continuous data often include decimals or fractions of numbers.

Continuous Data
Examples of continuous variables:
Height, weight, heart rate, blood
pressure, serum cholesterol, age,
temperature
A persons height may be measured and
recorded as 60 cm, but in theory the true
height could be an infinite number of values:
height may be
60.123456789..cm
or
59.892345678..cm

Classification of variables in The Bypass Angioplasty

Revascularization Investigation
CABG
(n=914)

PTCA
(n=915)

Age (years, mean SD)

61.1 3.2

61.8 3.7

Weight (kg, mean SD)

80.9 5.6

78.8 6.0

Gender [#, (%)]

Males
Females

676 (74%)
238 (26%)

668 (73%)
247 (27%)

Education [#, (%)]

Grade School
High School
Some College
College Graduate or >

192 (21%)
457 (50%)
165 (18%)
100 (11%)

192 (21%)
458 (50%)
165 (18%)
100 (11%)

4.0 0.6

3.8 0.6

902 (98.7%)
12 (1.3%)

898 (98.1%)
17 (1.9%)

Variable

Prior Hospitalizations (mean SD)

Post Treatment Mortality
Alive at 5 Years
Dead at 5 Years

Type of
Variable