POLS 2072Q Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Brad Delson, Religious Denomination
7 Feb 2019
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Document Summary
A variable is a numerical representation of a concept whose categories and corresponding values vary within the unit of analysis. The first and arguably most important step in stats is identifying a level of measurement for a variable. A level of measurement is a classification that describes the nature of information within the values assigned to a variable. Levels of measurement help to identify what statistical techniques can be performed with our data. Researchers distinguish between 4 levels by which a variable measure can assess an empirical characteristic. The numbers assigned to the categories have no quantitative meaning and are simply used to classify the cases. Dichotomous variables or variables with two values are typically considered nominal measures. Classify cases into categories that can be ranked or orders, but the relative degree of difference between the rankings cannot be determined. Classify and rank cases by using known and equal distances between values.
