Data Types and Levels of Measurement

Data and Variables

Data are often discussed in terms of variables,
where a variable is:
Any characteristic that varies from one
member of a population to another.
A simple example is height in centimeters, which
varies from person to person.
Level of intelligence
Food intake capacity
Income level 3-2
 Data Types
• Two basic types: qualitative and quantitative
– Qualitative (categorical) data – values that can be
placed in non-numerical categories
• Examples ice cream flavors, car models, ratings (movie
ratings, letter grades, pain scale ratings, etc.), social
security numbers, etc.
– Numbers that wouldn’t be used for computations would be
considered qualitative
– Quantitative data – consist of values representing
counts or measurements
• Examples ~ incomes of employees, the number of
students in different specialization, temperature, etc.
 Quantitative Data
• Can be classified as either continuous or discrete
– Continuous data – data that can take on any value in a given interval
• Can be part of a whole number
• Examples ~
– Weight; someone can weigh 50.8 Kgs
– Time; the time can be part of an hour (12:48 pm)
– Distance; length can be measured in parts (2.36 KM)
– Money; can be part of a Rupees (Rs 5.84)
 Quantitative Data Cont’d..
 Discrete data – data that can take on only particular values and not others
in-between
 Examples ~
 Number of employees (whole numbers only)

 Shoe sizes (whole and half sizes only)

 Number of times a employees took their leave(whole numbers only)

 Qualitative Levels of Measurement
• Qualitative (categorical) data can be classified further
as either nominal or ordinal
– Nominal level of measurement – characterized by data that
consist of names, labels, or categories only; cannot be
ranked or ordered
• Examples ice cream flavors, jersey numbers, gender, employee
number
– Ordinal level of measurement – qualitative data that can be
arranged in some order (such as low to high or high to low)
• Examples letter grades on a test, class roll no, etc.
 Quantitative Levels of Measurement
• Quantitative (numerical) data, whether it’s discrete or
continuous, can be further classified as interval or ratio
– Interval level of measurement – applies to quantitative data
in which intervals (difference) are meaningful and physical
ratios (which involve division) are not
• Data at this level have do not have a “true” zero point
– Example ~ Temperature;
» Intervals (differences) are not meaningful - 20˚F is not twice
as hot as 10˚F because it’s zero point (0˚F) does not
represent a state of “no heat”
» Ratios (division) are meaningful - 81˚F is hotter than 80˚F by
the same amount that 28˚F is hotter than 27˚F
 Quantitative Levels of Measurement

• Ratio Level of Data – when the differences

between two set of numbers are same then
the ratio of theses differences are one. Which
means that all the number start from zero.
• Interval Level of Data - when the differences
between two set of numbers are not same and
then the ratio of theses differences are not
one. Which means that all the number not
start from same zero.
 Summary
 Data can be classified as qualitative or quantitative
 Qualitative data can be classified as nominal or ordinal
 Quantitative data can be classified as discrete or continuous and further as interval
or ratio

Nominal

Qualitative
Ordinal

Interval

Discrete
Ratio
Quantitative
Interval
Continuous
Ratio