BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

Session 4

Variables and Scales of Measurements

Contents
4.1 Variables, p30
4.2 Operationalizing a variable, p31
4.3 Scales (or levels) of measurement, p32
Summary, p34
Learning Outcomes, p35

4.1 Variables

A set of observations or measurements collected on a specific characteristic

of the study subjects constitute the data. Each characteristic that varies from
subject to subject is called a variable. For example, “height”, “blood group”,
“number of siblings”, “fasting blood sugar” and “gender” aresome of the
variables that can be measured in groups of patients. It is important to have
a clear understanding of the nature of variables that you use in statistical
analysis, because different statistical techniques should be used in analyzing
data related to different variables. In session 1, we learned that quantitative
and qualitative variables are the two main types of variables.

Qualitative (or categorical) variable

Qualitative variables are those that express a qualitative attribute. Examples

includeblood group (A, B, O+ etc.) and religion(Buddhist, Hindu, Islam etc.).
Qualitative data tend to be non-numerical and fall into different categories
as illustrated above. Sometimes these categories can be ordered. For
example, severity of the pain (mild, moderate and severe) has some order in

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BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

the degree of pain. Those categorical variables that can be ordered are called
ordered categorical variables.

Quantitative (or numerical) variable

Quantitative variables are those variables that can be expressed in numbers.

Weight, number of children per family, and blood pressure are some of the
examples of quantitative variables. Quantitative variables can be either
discrete or continuous.

Discrete variables

A discrete variable is a variable in which the values take only whole

numbers. Number of reported cases of diphtheria and number of nurses in a
hospital are examples of discrete variables.

Continuous variables

A continuous variable is a numerical variable that can take any value

between a set of real numbers. Blood pressure and birth weight are
examples of continuous variables. Unlike discrete variables here we can
measure the variables to the nearest decimal or two decimal points. For
example, birth weight of a baby can take the value of 3.2 kg. Therefore, a
continuous variable is intrinsically different from a discrete variable.

4.2 Operationalizing a variable

Some variables such as weight or blood pressure can be easily measured

using appropriate equipment’s. However, some variables such as
aggressiveness or pain are not that easy to measure. Operationalization is
the process of strictly defining variables into measurable or quantifiable
factors.
For example, if we want to measure the body weights of a sample of
children, the variable here is weight. What units will be used to measure
weight? Pounds, kilograms or grams?. If we operationalize the variable such

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BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

that weight in kg then the variable is clearly quantifiable and it has an exact
measuring method.

Suppose we want to measure the social class of a group of patients. Here the
variable is social class. How social class is defined? Is it the monthly
income of the patient? or is it the occupation of the patient?oris it the level
of education of the patient? or is it a combination of two or more of these
factors? So when we are operationalizing the variable social class, there
should be an exact method for measuring it, and the way the measurement is
done should be useful in your specific research. For another research you
may define social class differently based on your research objectives. For
example, using the occupation of the patient we can operationalize the
variable social class as follows.

Social class I - Leading professionals and Businessmen (E.g.: Lawyer,

CEO)
Social class II – Lesser Professionals and Businessmen (E.g.: Teacher)
Social class III – Skilled workers (E.g.: Clerks)
Social class IV – Unskilled workers (E.g.: Manual laborers)

So operationalization allows us to clearly set down exact definitions for

each variable in our study and it would increase the quality of the results,
and improve the robustness of the design.

4.3 Scales (or levels) of measurement

The mere distinction between variables as qualitative or quantitative does

not adequately support statistical data analysis. We can distinguish
variables based on their scales of measurement. There are four scales
(levels) of measurements; nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.

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BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

Nominal Scale: If the data obtained from a variable can be classified into
unordered categories, then such a variable is said to be measured on a
nominal scale.
Examples: Eye color, Gender, Religious affiliation, Dead/Alive, Occupation
In nominal measurements no quantifiable information is conveyed.
Nominal scales are therefore qualitative.

Ordinal Scale: If the data obtained on a variable can be arranged in some

order, but the differences between data values cannot be determined or are
not numerically precise, then such a variable is said to be measured on an
ordinal scale.
Examples: Disease severity (low, moderate, severe), opinion about banning
smoking (strongly disagree, agree, strongly agree)

Interval Scale: If the data obtained on a variable can be placed in a

meaningful numerical order and have meaningful intervals between values,
then such a variable is said to be measured on an intervals scale. However,
interval scales do not have an absolute zero.
Examples: Temperature on the Fahrenheit or Centigrade scale (0 oC, does
not mean that there is no temperature),intelligence (no one can have 0
intelligence).
In interval scales it is not possible to make statements about how many
times a score is higher than another. For example, in a stress scale, an
assumption like ‘a person with a score of 30 is twice stressed than a person
with a score if 15’, would not be valid. (Differences in data values are
meaningful, but ratios, such as twice as much or twice as large, are not
meaningful)

Ratio scale: If the data obtained on a variable can be placed in a meaningful

numerical order and have meaningful intervals between values, and have a
“true zero” then such a variable is said to be measured on a ratio scale.
Examples: Height, Heart Rate, Income

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BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

In general, scales of measurement are helpful to interpret the

data coming from a variable, and to decide what statistical
analysis is appropriate for the values that were observed.

Activity4.1

In a study, the following variables were measured.

Sex, Weight (kg), Body Temperature (F0), C - reactive protein (mg/dL)
The scales of these four variables (in order) are:
(a) Nominal, ratio, ratio, ratio
(b) Nominal, ratio, interval, interval
(c) Ordinal, ratio, interval, ratio
(d) Nominal, ratio, interval, ratio
(e) Ordinal, interval, ratio, interval

Summary

• A set of observations or measurements collected on a specific

characteristic of the study subjects constitute the data. Each
characteristic that varies from subject to subject is called a variable

• Variables are divided into two types; quantitative and qualitative

variables.

• Quantitative variables can be either discrete or continuous.

• Variables can be distinguished based on their scales of measurement,

there are four scales (levels) of measurements; nominal, ordinal,
interval and ratio.

Learning Outcomes

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BSU5335 – Unit I Session 04: Variables and Scales of Measurements

At the end of the lesson you should be able to,

• Identify and describe different types of variables used in nursing
practice.
• Describe the term operationalizing a variable.
• Describe scales of measurements

Review Questions

Discrete variables include

a. pulse rate
b. number of relapses
c. survival time
d. skin color
e. service period

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