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MODULE 2: VARIABLES AND DATA

Learning Outcome: Classify variables and data according to its different

categories and levels of measurement.

In this module, we begin our discussion on descriptive statistics. In particular, we will discuss
the different types of variables and classify data according to its level of measurement.

TYPES OF VARIABLES

A variable is an observable property, attribute or characteristic which is of interest about

each individual or item of a population or sample that varies from one item to another.
Variables play a very important role in data analysis because knowing the type of variable
being dealt with determines the appropriate statistical presentation as well as tools for the
analysis.

A variable can be classified as either quantitative or qualitative.

 Quantitative variable - it provides information based on quantity. It represents a number

for which arithmetic operations such as averaging makes sense. The price of a
commodity or a stock in the stock market, the inflation rate, wages, and number of
products produced in a production facility are but some examples.

 Qualitative variable – it provides information based on quality. It takes on values that

are instead names or labels. The type of industry, the income level, profession, and job
position are some examples of qualitative variables.

Quantitative variables can be further classified as discrete or continuous. A discrete

quantitative variable is a variable for which the values it can take are countable, exact
values and have finite possibilities. Some examples of this variable would be the number of
employees of a certain corporation, the number of persons infected by COVID-19 in
Baguio, and the number of trades done by a stock trader in a day.

A continuous quantitative variable, on the other hand, can take on an infinite number of
possible values because its values may not be exact. Some examples of this variable are
weights of produced items, the land area of a certain property, and the time it took for a
machine to produce an item.

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TYPES OF DATA

Data are raw materials of statistical investigations. They arise when measurements are
made and/or observations are recorded. If you are involved in statistics, marketing or data
science, it is essential to know the difference between qualitative and quantitative data
and analysis.

Data can be categorized as qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative data sets consist of
measures that take numerical values for which descriptions such as means and standard
deviations are meaningful. Quantitative data is the set of observations collected from
quantitative or numerical variables. Quantitative data are easily amenable to statistical
manipulations and can be represented with a wide variety of statistical types of
graphs and charts such as line graph, bar graph, scatter plot, box and whisker plot and
more.

Key characteristics of quantitative data:

 It can be quantified and verified.
 Data can be counted.
 Data type: number and statistics.
 It answers questions such as “how many, “how much” and “how often.”

Just like quantitative variables, there are two general types of quantitative data: discrete
and continuous. Discrete quantitative data can take on a count that involves integers. Only
a limited number of values are possible and the discrete values cannot be subdivided into
parts. For example, the number of children in a school is discrete data. You can count
whole individuals. You can’t count 1.5 kids. Continuous quantitative data are data that can
be meaningfully divided into finer levels. It can be measured on a scale or continuum and
can have almost any numeric value. For example, you can measure your height at very
precise scales — meters, centimeters, millimeters and etc.

As you might guess, qualitative data are information that can’t be expressed as a number
and can’t be measured. Qualitative data, such as eye color of a group of individuals, is not
computable by arithmetic relations. They are labels that advise in which category or class
an individual, object, or process falls. Qualitative data is the set of observations collected
from qualitative or categorical variables. Qualitative data consist of words, pictures,
observations, and symbols, not numbers. It is about qualities. Qualitative data is also
called categorical data. The reason is that the information can be sorted by category, not
by number. Qualitative data is analyzed to look for common themes.

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Key characteristics of qualitative data:

 It cannot be quantified and verified.
 Data cannot be counted.
 Data type: words, objects, pictures, observations, and symbols.
 It answers questions such as “how this has happened” or and “why this has happened”.

According to source, data can also be categorized as primary and secondary. Primary
data refer to the information which are gathered directly from an original source or which
are based on direct or first-hand experience. Secondary data refer to the information
taken from published or unpublished materials that have been previously gathered by
other individuals or agencies. Published data and the data collected in the past are
considered secondary data.

Primary data are collected firsthand by a researcher (organization, person, authority,

agency or party, etc.) through experiments, surveys, questionnaires, focus groups,
conducting interviews and taking (required) measurements, while the secondary data is
readily available (collected by someone else) for the public through publications, journals
and newspapers. It is important to consider primary data and locate any inconsistent
observations before it is given a statistical treatment.

On the other hand, secondary data are those which have already been collected by
someone, may be sorted, tabulated and has undergone a statistical treatment. Secondary
data may be available from the following sources:
 Government organizations or offices like the Philippine Statistics Authority and National
Economic and Development Authority
 Commercial and financial institutions like banks
 Research organizations or companies
 Research journals and newspapers
 Internet

Cross-Sectional and Time Series Data

It is also important to distinguish between cross-sectional data and time series data for
purposes of statistical analysis. Data which is gathered at the same or approximately the
same point in time is called Cross-Sectional Data while data collected over several periods
of time (like the quarterly inflation rate of the Philippines) is referred to as Time Series Data.
Inferential analysis for these two types of data differ and for this course, we would be
dealing with the analysis of cross-sectional data.

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SCALES OF MEASUREMENT

In order for the effective use of statistics, it would be helpful to view data in a different way
in order for it to be analyzed successfully. We do this by considering the level of scale by
which data was measures. The following are the four scales/levels of measurement of data,
presented from the lowest to the highest level:

 Nominal. Nominal scales are used simply for labelling cases or items based on the
presence or absence of some attribute. Data obtained from a variable measured at the
nominal level can only be categorized but cannot be ranked or arranged in any order.
Furthermore, numbers can be obtained as data, however, they do not denote quantity;
they are only used as labels. Examples of nominal data are: hair color (black, blonde,
brown, brunette, etc.) and gender (male, female).

 Ordinal. It is the simplest scale that arranges or assigns to order people, items, objects, or
events along some continuum. The name of this scale is derived from the use of ordinal
numbers for ranking. The numbers are used only to place the items in order. Moreover,
data obtained in the ordinal level can be used to categorize or classify the items under
study. Examples of ordinal data are: place of a person in a competition (first, second,
third), preference (most preferred, next preferred, least preferred), and quality (poor, fair,
good, very good, outstanding).

 Interval. The intervals between each data value are the same. A popular example here
is the temperature in centigrade, where, for instance, the interval between 93oC and
95oC is the same as the distance between 1060C and 1080C. However, the starting point
in the interval scale is arbitrary which means that there is no fixed zero point or point of
origin in the measurement scale. With this, the value zero in the data set does not reflect
the absence of an attribute (e.g. 0°C)

 Ratio. This scale does not only depict order and have equal intervals, but it also has the
value of zero as the fixed point of origin. In contrast to the interval scale, meaningful
ratios between values can be established in this scale of measurement. Examples are:
weight, length, and number of customers.

Identifying the levels of measurement where a data set falls under will help you decide
whether or not the data are useful in making calculations. The scales of measurement are
very important because they determine the types of data analysis that can be performed.

Perhaps you have seen that the nominal and ordinal scales are used for qualitative data
while the interval and ratio measurement scales are much more exact and are used for
quantitative data analysis.

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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 10
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Learning Reinforcement Activity No. 2: VARIABLES AND DATA

Work on the following problems using short bond papers with 1-inch margin on all sides.
You may not copy the problems. Your answers can be handwritten be computerized. If it is
computerized, save it as a single PDF file; if it is handwritten, scan or take a
photo/picture of each page, copy and paste the photo/picture to a WORD document
and save it as a single PDF file (or you can use any means, like a mobile App, to scan
and save it as a single PDF file). The Filename should be:
<SURNAMEFirstName_ReinforcementNo.> For example, BALLENAJaime_Reinforcement2
will be my output for Learning Reinforcement 2.

1. Enumerate five (5) examples of business-related data collected by companies or

organizations either from their customers or as a result of day-to-day business processes.
Classify these according to whether they are qualitative data, discrete quantitative
data or continuous quantitative data. Identify also the scale of measurement for each.
Create a table with three columns (Data, Data Classification, Scale of Measurement)
for your output.

2. Consider the following examples of populations, together with the

variable/characteristic measured on each population unit.
a. Population: All undergraduate SAMCIS students enrolled at SLU for the 1st
Semester of AY 2021-2022.
Variable: Student’s major or field

b. Population: Accountability reports by State Universities and Colleges and

Government Owned and Controlled Corporations submitted to the Commission
on Audit.
Variable: Total Disbursements

c. Population: All items manufactured for the month of July in a certain

manufacturing company.
Variable: Number of defective items

For each of the above situations,

i. Classify the variable of interest as either qualitative or quantitative,

ii. Determine the corresponding level of measurement of the variable.
iii. Name another variable that can be measured or observed from the population.

Congratulations! You just completed Module 2.

Let us discuss more basic concepts in Module 3.

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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 11