Content Objective

Students will be able to identify variables as being either

quantitative or categorical in nature.
Language Objective
Students will understand the meaning of the following terms:
Variable
Observational Units
Data
Variability
Quantitative Variable
Categorical Variable
Binary Variable
Unit 1. Data and Variables:
Central Concept: What is meant by the term data? Research
questions are investigated through the collecting of data and
conducting statistical analysis.
Content Standards
Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data

S-ID

Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single count or

measurement variable.
1. Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots,
histograms, and box plots).
2. Use statistics appropriate to the shape of the data distribution to
compare center (median, mean) and spread (interquartile range,
standard deviation) of two or more different data sets.
3. Interpret differences in shape, center, and spread in the context of
the data sets, accounting for possible effects of extreme data points
(outliers).

4. Use the mean and standard deviation of a data set to fit it to a

normal distribution and to estimate population percentages.
Recognize that there are data sets for which such a procedure is not
appropriate. Use calculators, spreadsheets, and tables to estimate
areas under the normal curve.
Summarize, represent, and interpret data on two categorical and
quantitative variables.
5. Summarize categorical data for two categories in two-way
frequency tables. Interpret relative frequencies in the context of the
data (including joint, marginal, and conditional relative frequencies).
Recognize possible associations and trends in the data.
6. Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and
describe how the variables are related.
a. Fit a function to the data; use functions fitted to data to solve
problems in the context of the data. Use given functions or choose a
function suggested by the context. Emphasize linear, quadratic, and
exponential models.
b. Informally assess the fit of a function by plotting and analyzing
residuals.
c. Fit a linear function for a scatter plot that suggests a linear
association.
Interpret linear models.
7. Interpret the slope (rate of change) and the intercept (constant
term) of a linear model in the context of the data.
8. Compute (using technology) and interpret the correlation
coefficient of a linear fit.
9. Distinguish between correlation and causation.

Data and Variables:

In Class Activities:1
Activity 1-1: Cell Phone Calls
a.) For each student in class, record the number of outgoing calls
he or she has made on a cell phone so far today.
These numbers recorded represent data. Not all numbers are data.
Data are numbers collected in a particular context. (For example, the
numbers 10, 3 and 7 do not constitute data in and of themselves.)
They are data if they represent the number of outgoing phone calls
made by the first three students to walk into the classroom today.
b.) Did every student in the classroom make the same number of
outgoing calls?
c.)
Is number of outgoing calls a quantitative or categorical
variable?
d.)
What if we record only whether or not you have made a
call today? Would that be a quantitative or categorical variable?
e.)
Suggest another categorical variable that we could record
about each student in the class with regard to cell phone use
today.
f.) Still considering the students in the class as the observational
units, suppose each was asked the following questions.
Classify each of the following variables as categorical or
quantitative. If it is categorical, also indicate whether it is binary.

Have you made more outgoing calls or received more incoming

calls today, or the same number of each?

What is the average duration of calls you have made today?
Does your cell phone have a QWERTY keyboard?
At what time did you receive your first call today?
What was the area code to which you made your first call
today?

g.)
Lambert and Pinheiro (2006) describe a study in which
researchers try to identify characteristics of cell phone calls that
suggest that the phone is being used fraudulently. Suppose we
want to know the average duration of all the calls you have
made in the past month as a way to create a profile of your cell
phone usage. Identify the observational unit and variable in this
measurement, and classify the variable as quantitative or
categorical.
Observational Units:
Variable:

Type:

Watch Out
It is very important that you think about the observational
units and how to phrase the variable as a characteristic that
varies from observational unit to observational unit. If might
be helpful to force yourself to always fill in the blanks of the
following sentence:
We are recording ___________________ from ____________
Variable
To ________________________________________
Observational Units
h.)
Suggest two more categorical variables and two more
quantitative variables that could be measured about the call
phone calls you made in the past month to help describe how
you use your phone. Make sure you state these as variables
and not as summaries.

In Class Activities:2
Activity 1-2: Student Data
a.) Again, consider the students in your class as observational units.
Classify each of the following as categorical or quantitative. If it is
categorical, also indicate whether or not it is binary.
How many hours have you slept in the past 24 hours.
Whether or not you have slept for at least 7 hours in the past

24 hours.
Number of Harry Potter books that you have read.
How many states have you visited
Handedness (which had do you write with)
Political viewpoint (liberal, moderate, or conservative)
Day of the week on which you were born
Average study time per week
How many birthday cards you received on your last birthday
Gender

Research Question: A research question often looks for

patterns in a variable or compares a variable across different
groups or looks for a relationship between variables.
Some research questions that you could investigate with data on the
above variables include
Do most students in your class get at least 7 hours of
sleep in a typical night?
Do females tend to study more than males?
Is there an association between how much students
study per week and how much sleep they get?

Notice that though these are also phrased as questions,

they summarize the variable(s) across the observational
units rather than being posed to the individual
observational unit.
b.) Suggest two other research questions that you could
investigate using the variables in part a.
Research question 1:

Research question 2:
c.) Suggest four additional variables that you could record
about yourself and your classmates, and then propose two
research questions that you could address using those
variables. [Hint: Be sure to distinguish the variables from
the research questions; remember a variable is some
characteristic that can be recorded for each student and
can vary from student to student.]

In Class Activities:3
Activity 1-3: Variables of State
Suppose that the observational units of interest are 50 states. Identify
which of the following are variables and which are not. Also classify
the variables as categorical or quantitative.
a.) Gender of the states current governor
b.) Number of states that have a female governor
c.) Percentage of the states residents older than 65 years of age
d.) Highest speed limit in the state
e.) Whether or not the states name contains one word
f.) Average income of the adult residents of the state
g.) How many states were settled before 1865
h.) Telephone area code for the capital building in the capital city

Activity 1-3: Variables of State (Answers)

a. Gender of the states current governor: binary categorical
variable.
b. Number of states that have a female governor: is not a variable.
c. Percentage of the states residents older than 65: quantitative
variable.
d. Highest speed limit in the state: quantitative variable.
e. Whether or not the states name contains one word: binary
categorical variable
f. Average income of the adult residents of the state: quantitative
variable
g. How many states were settled before 1865: is not a variable.
h. Telephone area code for the capital building in the capital city:
categorical

Definitions:

Variable Any characteristic of a person or thing that can

be assigned a number or a category.

Observational Units The person or thing to which the

number or category is assigned.

Data The numbers or categories recorded for the

observational units in a study.

Variability The phenomenon of a variable taking on

different values or categories from observational unit to
observational unit.

Quantitative Variable A variable which measures a

numerical characteristic such as height for example.

Categorical Variable A variable which a group

designation (such as gender).

Binary Variable A categorical variable with only two

possible categories (such as male and female).