Statistical Terminology: Data, Context, and Variables

Data

Recorded values whether numbers or labels, together with their context (p. 17).

Data table

An arrangement of data in which each row represents a case and each column­ represents a variable (p. 19).

Context

The context ideally tells who was measured, what was measured, how the data were collected, where the data were collected, and when and why the study was performed (p. 20).

Case

An individual about whom or which we have data (p. 20).

Respondent

Someone who answers, or responds to, a survey (p. 20).

Subject

A human experimental unit. Also called a participant (p. 20).

Participant

A human experimental unit. Also called a subject (p. 20).

Experimental unit

An individual in a study for which or for whom data values are recorded. Human ­ experimental units are usually called subjects or participants (p. 20).

Record

Information about an individual in a database (p. 20).

Sample

A subset of a population, examined in hope of learning about the population (p. 20).

Population

The entire group of individuals or instances about whom we hope to learn (p. 20).

Variable

A variable holds information about the same characteristic for many cases (p. 21).

Categorical (or qualitative) variable

A variable that names categories with words or numerals (p. 21).

Nominal variable

The term “nominal” can be applied to a variable whose values are used only to name categories (p. 21).

Quantitative variable

A variable in which the numbers are values of measured quantities with units (p. 21).

Units

A quantity or amount adopted as a standard of measurement, such as dollars, hours, or grams (p. 21).

Identifier variable

A categorical variable that records a unique value for each case, used to name or ­ identify it (p. 22).

Ordinal variable

The term “ordinal” can be applied to a variable whose categorical values possess some kind of order (p. 22).