categorical variable

Meaning

1. 1nouncountabletechnicalmathematics

   In statistics, a variable whose values are labels for groups or types, such as eye colour or country, rather than amounts.

   Grammar: Takes a plural: a categorical variable, two categorical variables.

   Patterns

   • a categorical variable such as something
   • a categorical variable with N levels

   Hair colour is a categorical variable because its values are groups, not numbers.

   The survey included three categorical variables, including favorite sport.

   You can show a categorical variable with a bar chart.

Word forms

Common combinations

code a categorical variable

We coded the categorical variable as 0 and 1.

binary categorical variable

Yes or no answers form a binary categorical variable.

categorical variable with three levels

A categorical variable with three levels was used for blood type.

analyze a categorical variable

A chi-square test lets us analyze a categorical variable.

ordinal categorical variable

Shirt size is an ordinal categorical variable.

Synonyms and how they differ

qualitative variable

Qualitative variable means nearly the same and is common in textbooks, though categorical variable is preferred in modern statistics.

nominal variable

A nominal variable is a type of categorical variable with no natural order, so it is narrower.

factor

Factor is the term used in statistical software such as R for a categorical variable.

Opposites

Word family

category noun

a group of things of one type

categorize verb

to sort into groups

categorical adjective

relating to categories; also means absolute

variable noun

something that can take different values

Commonly confused: categorical variable or continuous variable? categorical variable or categorical?

Practice

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