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Nominal Variable – Definition, Purpose and Examples

September 28, 2022by Muhammad Hassan

Table of Contents

Nominal Variable

Types of Nominal Variables

Applications of Nominal Variable

Examples of Nominal Variable

Characteristics of Nominal Variable

When to use Nominal Variable

Advantages of Nominal Variable

Limitations of Nominal Variable

Nominal Variable

Nominal Variable

Definition:

Nominal variable is a type of categorical variable that represents data in the form of labels or names,
which cannot be ordered or ranked. These labels are used to differentiate between different groups or
categories, but they do not have any inherent numerical or quantitative meaning.

Types of Nominal Variables

There are several types of nominal variables. Some of the most common types include:
Binary variables: These variables have only two possible values or categories. For example, “yes” or
“no”, “male” or “female”, “true” or “false”.

Multi-category variables: These variables have more than two possible values or categories. For
example, “red”, “green”, “blue”, “yellow” or “Catholic”, “Protestant”, “Muslim”, “Jewish”.

Dichotomous variables: These variables are a special case of binary variables that represent a choice
between two options. For example, “smoker” or “non-smoker”, “married” or “unmarried”.

Nominal scales: These variables have no inherent order or ranking. For example, eye color, hair color, or
favorite fruit.

Applications of Nominal Variable

Nominal variables have several applications across different fields, some of which are:

Market research: Nominal variables are used to categorize consumer data in market research. For
example, data about the preferred brand of a product, the type of media used for advertising, and
demographic data can be analyzed using nominal variables.

Social sciences: Nominal variables are often used in social sciences such as sociology, psychology, and
political science. Researchers use nominal variables to categorize and analyze data related to social
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Medical research: Nominal variables are used in medical research to categorize data related to the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases. For example, data on the type of medication used, the stage of the
disease, and patient demographic information can be analyzed using nominal variables.

Education research: Nominal variables are used in education research to categorize data related to
student demographics, academic performance, and other factors that may influence student success.

Examples of Nominal Variable

Here are some real-time examples of nominal variables:

Gender: One of the most common examples of nominal variables is gender, which is typically classified
into male and female categories.

Religion: Another example of a nominal variable is religion, which can be categorized into various groups
like Muslims, Hindus, Christians, etc.
Country: Countries are also a nominal variable as they cannot be ranked or ordered based on any
numerical value. Examples include India, the USA, Australia, etc.

Type of Fruit: When categorizing fruits based on their type, we can use nominal variables. Examples of
fruits include apples, bananas, oranges, and strawberries.

Eye Color: Eye color is another example of a nominal variable because it cannot be ranked or ordered
based on any numerical value. Examples include blue, green, brown, and black.

Education Level: When categorizing education levels, nominal variables are often used. Examples include
high school, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and PhD.

Characteristics of Nominal Variable

The characteristics of nominal variables are as follows:

Categorical Data: Nominal variables represent data in categories or labels that cannot be ordered or
ranked. For example, eye color, gender, religion, or country of origin.

Discrete Data: Nominal variables are discrete, which means they can only take on specific values or
categories. There is no value between the categories, and it is not possible to measure the distance
between them.

Non-numeric: Nominal variables are non-numeric and do not have any inherent numerical or
quantitative meaning. For example, when we say that someone is a male, we cannot assign a numerical
value to that label.

Mutually exclusive categories: Each observation can only belong to one category in nominal variables.
For example, a person cannot be both male and female at the same time.

No Natural Order: There is no natural order or hierarchy in nominal variables. For example, there is no
inherent order or ranking between colors, religions, or countries.

When to use Nominal Variable

Nominal variables are typically used in situations where data needs to be categorized into distinct
groups or categories. Here are some situations where nominal variables are particularly useful:

Categorical Data: Nominal variables are particularly useful for categorical data that cannot be ordered or
ranked. For example, when collecting data on gender, race, or religion, nominal variables can be used to
categorize the data into distinct groups.
Surveys: Nominal variables are commonly used in surveys to categorize responses into different groups
or categories. For example, when collecting data on consumer preferences, nominal variables can be
used to categorize responses based on different product features or attributes.

Market Research: Nominal variables are often used in market research to categorize consumer data into
different groups based on demographic characteristics or preferences.

Medical Research: Nominal variables are useful in medical research to categorize data related to the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Social Sciences: Nominal variables are commonly used in social sciences to categorize data related to
social attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Advantages of Nominal Variable

The advantages of nominal variables are as follows:

Easy to collect and analyze: Nominal variables are relatively easy to collect and analyze since they do not
require any special knowledge or tools. They can be collected through surveys, questionnaires, or other
forms of data collection.

Simplifies data: Nominal variables can help simplify data by categorizing it into distinct groups or
categories. This makes it easier to understand and analyze the data.

Useful for categorical data: Nominal variables are particularly useful for categorical data that cannot be
ordered or ranked. For example, when collecting data on gender or race, nominal variables can be used
to categorize the data into distinct groups.

Enables statistical analysis: Nominal variables enable statistical analysis, such as frequency distributions
and cross-tabulations, to be conducted on the data.

Facilitates comparison: Nominal variables allow for comparisons to be made between different groups
or categories. For example, in market research, nominal variables can be used to compare consumer
preferences for different products.

Limitations of Nominal Variable

The limitations of nominal variables are as follows:

Limited information: Nominal variables only provide limited information about the data since they do
not have any inherent numerical or quantitative meaning. This makes it difficult to perform more
advanced statistical analysis or make predictions based on the data.
Limited variability: Nominal variables have limited variability since they can only take on specific values
or categories. This can make it difficult to detect subtle differences between groups or categories.

Does not account for intensity: Nominal variables do not account for the intensity or strength of a
variable. For example, if we categorize income into different groups, we lose information about the
actual income amount, which may be important in some analyses.

Inability to perform arithmetic operations: Nominal variables cannot be used in arithmetic operations
such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division since they are non-numeric. This limits the types
of statistical analysis that can be performed on the data.

Subjectivity in categorization: The categorization of nominal variables can be subjective, which may lead
to inconsistencies or errors in the data.

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Definition, Purpose and Examples

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

View all posts

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