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Categorical variables

By Jim Frost

A categorical variable has values that you can put into a countable number of distinct groups based on a characteristic. For a categorical variable, you can assign categories but the categories have no natural order.  If the variable has a natural order, it is an ordinal variable. Categorical variables are also called qualitative variables or attribute variables.

For example, college major is a categorical variable that can have values such as psychology, political science, engineering, biology, etc.

Related

Synonyms:
Qualitative variables, Attribute variables
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