Data, variables and measurement scales
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66344/jpad.v15i1.619Keywords:
Data, variables, measurement scalesAbstract
Biostatistics is part and parcel of biomedical research. The data from biomedical studies
require statistical treatment for its effective presentation and correct interpretation. The
choice of appropriate statistical methods to be applied depends upon the kind of data and
variables. Different types of variables (characteristics) generate different types of data.
Variables can be classified in many ways; qualitative and quantitative, nominal and ordinal or
discrete and continuous. Different measurement scales are used to measure different types of
variables; nominal & ordinal scales for qualitative and interval & ratio scale for quantitative
variables. Different statistical methods/tests are employed for presentation and analysis of
different types of data. For qualitative data; percentage, proportions, rate, ratios, standard
error 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 measurement
scales.
Learning objective At the completion of this article, the reader should have a clear
understanding of different types of data, variables and their measurement scales, and be able
to utilize these concepts in organizing the research of his own and for interpreting the results
of other studies.
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Copyright (c) 2016 Tariq Zaman, Abbas Raza
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