Data, variables and measurement scales

Authors

  • Tariq Zaman
  • Abbas Raza

Keywords:

Data, variables, measurement scales

Abstract

Biostatistics is part and parcel of biomedical research. The data from biomedical studiesrequire statistical treatment for its effective presentation and correct interpretation. Thechoice of appropriate statistical methods to be applied depends upon the kind of data andvariables. Different types of variables (characteristics) generate different types of data.Variables can be classified in many ways; qualitative and quantitative, nominal and ordinal ordiscrete and continuous. Different measurement scales are used to measure different types ofvariables; nominal & ordinal scales for qualitative and interval & ratio scale for quantitativevariables. Different statistical methods/tests are employed for presentation and analysis ofdifferent types of data. For qualitative data; percentage, proportions, rate, ratios, standarderror of proportions, chi-square test etc. are applied. While mean, range, standard deviation,coefficient of variation, correlation coefficient, etc. are employed in case of quantitative data.This article, second of the series, describes various types of data, variables and measurementscales.Learning objective At the completion of this article, the reader should have a clearunderstanding of different types of data, variables and their measurement scales, and be ableto utilize these concepts in organizing the research of his own and for interpreting the resultsof other studies.

References

Bluman AG, editor. Elementary

Statistics – step by step approach, 5th

edn. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2004.

Krishnamurty GB, Kasovia-Schmitt P,

Ostroff DJ, editors. Statistics – An

interactive text for health and life

sciences. London: Jones & Bartlett

Publishers International; 1995.

Mann PS, editor. Introductory Statistics,

th edn. Singapore: John Willy & Sons,

Inc; 2004.

Snedecor GW, Cochran WG, editors.

Statistical Methods, 7th edn. Ames:

Iowa State Univ. Press; 1998.

Armitage P, Berry G, editors. Statistical

Methods in Medical Research, 3rd edn.

Cambridge: Blackwell Scientific; 1994.

Swinscow TDV, Campbell MJ, editors.

Statistics at square one, 10th edn.

London: BMJ Books; 2003.

Appleton DR. What statistics should we

teach medical undergraduates and

graduates? Stat Med 1990; 9:1013-21.

Zaman T, Raza A. Biostatistics-I:

Introduction, role and applications in

medicine. J Pak Assoc Dermatol 2004;

: 147-51.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-28

How to Cite

1.
Zaman T, Raza A. Data, variables and measurement scales. J Pak Assoc Dermatol [Internet]. 2016Dec.28 [cited 2025Feb.9];15(1):60-5. Available from: http://www.jpad.com.pk/index.php/jpad/article/view/619

Issue

Section

Biostatistics II

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>