This document discusses different types of variables: independent variables that can cause changes in other variables, dependent variables that can change in response to independent variables, and different levels of measurement for variables - nominal (qualitative categories without ranking), ordinal (ranked categories without defined distances), interval (ranked categories with equal distances), and ratio (ranked categories with an absolute zero point).

1.  refers to the way that a
variable is measured.

2. Variable
is a characteristic, number, or quantity
that increases or decreases over time, or
takes different values in different
situations.

3. 1. Independent variable: that can take different
values and can cause
corresponding changes in other variables.
2Dependent variable: that can take different
values only in response to an independent
variable.

4.  Nominal Level
 Ordinal Level
 Interval Level
 Ratio Level

5.  At this level, variables simply name
the attribute it is measuring and no
ranking is present.
 Example:
Gender – Male and Female
 often called qualitative variables

6.  An important feature of nominal
variables is that there is no hierarchy or
ranking to the categories.
 For instance, males are not ranked
higher than females or vice versa –
there is no order or rank, just different
names assigned to each.

7.  Other examples of nominal variables are:
Religion, Marital status, and Race
 Nominal variables are also commonly
referred to as categorical variables.

8.  At this level, variables can be ranked-ordered.
Example:
Social class or status
a. Upper class
b. Middle class
c. Lower class
 In ordinal variables, the distance between
categories does not have any meaning.

9.  at this level, the distance between the
attributes, or categories, does have meaning.
Example:
Temperature
the distance between 30 and 40 degrees
Fahrenheit is the same as the distance
between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.