Rows & Columns
In a standard structured dataset, these are found along the rows, while variables are found along the columns.
What are observations?
For a variable to be truly numeric, it must possess these two qualities, meaning the distance between 1 and 2 is identical to the distance between 9 and 10.
What are magnitude and scale?
This numeric scale applies to data that cannot be sliced into smaller pieces, meaning there are distinct gaps between values and it usually involves counting whole items.
What is discrete?
This categorical scale is used when data values describe group labels that possess a natural, logical hierarchy or progression.
What is ordinal?
This specific process is defined as the art and science of collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data to make decisions.
What is statistical inference? (Accept: statistics / statistical methods)
This special column, such as a student's name, EID, or an assigned row number, is unique to each case and is NOT treated as a statistical variable.
What is a unique identifier?
Even though a zip code or phone area code is written entirely in numbers, it belongs to this broad variable category.
What is categorical?
A biologist measures the physical wingspan of birds in centimeters. This is the exact numeric scale of that measurement.
What is continuous?
This categorical scale translates directly to differences in "name only," where the data groups have absolutely no inherent order.
What is nominal?
A climatologist creates a visual graph displaying the exact average yearly rainfall recorded across various regions in Texas. This is an example of this type of analysis.
What is a descriptive analysis?
If you decide to sort a dataset by one column, you must sort all other columns simultaneously to avoid destroying this.
What is the complete picture of the observation? (Accept: keeping the row data together)
This is the fast "mental check" you perform when you calculate the average of a numeric variable to see if it is secretly a categorical variable in disguise.
What is the Average Check? (Does an average of these numbers make real-world sense?)
This is the primary question you must ask yourself to instantly separate a discrete numeric scale from a continuous numeric scale.
Does a decimal make sense?
A customer service survey asks users to rate their support experience as 'Poor,' 'Fair,' 'Good,' or 'Excellent.' This is the correct scale of measurement.
What is ordinal?
A research team uses data collected from a sample of 50 high school students to estimate or predict the overall correlation between study hours and GPA for an entire school district. This is this type of analysis.
What is an inferential analysis?
This is the critical element that separates a meaningless, random list of numbers or words from actual usable data.
What is context?
This unique quantitative measurement is a rare example of a numeric variable that is completely valid but does not have any units attached to it.
What is pH level?
A school librarian tracks the total number of books each student borrows in a month. This is the scale of measurement for this variable.
What is discrete?
According to Dr. Harvey, any nominal variable that features exactly two categories (such as Yes/No, Pass/Fail, or Animated/Not Animated) is called this.
What is binary data? (Accept: a two-category nominal variable)
If a researcher calculates the average hours studied per week only for the 50 individual students sitting directly in their sample group, they are performing this type of analysis.
What is descriptive?
A dataset tracks 75 distinct migratory birds across 6 different measurements. This is the total number of rows (excluding the header) you will find in this dataset.
What is 75?
If you subtract Player A's jersey number (#88) from Player B's jersey number (#11) and get 77, the math results in absolute gibberish. This proves jersey numbers are actually this type of variable.
What is categorical?
A movie dataset lists film budgets rounded to the nearest whole dollar with zero decimals showing. This is the reason the variable's scale remains continuous.
What is because money can inherently be sliced into infinitely smaller increments (cents/decimals) even if rounded?
If you sort a list of movie genres alphabetically (Action, Adventure, Family) and it does absolutely nothing to disrupt a natural hierarchy, you have confirmed the scale is this.
What is nominal?
In a study analyzing how a student's weekly study time impacts their ultimate GPA, researchers write down the high school the students attend. Because the high school is not being evaluated for change or impact, it is not considered one of these.
What is a variable of interest?