30 Examples of Variables

In statistics, the variables are the characteristics or properties of a population or of a representative sample that are analyzed in an investigation. For example: In a marketing study of brands, the variable is consumers' choice of brands.

One of the most important features of variables is that they fluctuate, that is, they change from one element to another. For example, if a survey is carried out to find out which are the preferred brands of consumers, the variable will change from one subject to another, since some will choose Nike; others, Adidas; others, Row; etc.

Variables are a central part of scientific, governmental, economic, and technological investigations. business, because they determine what data is to be collected and analyzed to gain insights into a set of individuals.

Variables are chosen by researchers according to what aspect of a population you want to meet and can relate to people (for example: the blood type of the subjects of a country), with objects (for example:

the materials with which the thermal insulators are built), with phenomena (for example: the characteristics of rainfall in different regions), among others.

Characteristics of the variables

Variable types

Variables are classified according to whether they are assigned numerical or non-numeric values ​​and whether or not they are influenced by another variable.

Depending on whether they are assigned numeric or non-numeric values, variables can be:

• polytomous variables. They acquire three or more values ​​and can be:

– nominal. They express qualities and whose values ​​are not ordered hierarchically. For example: The woods that are used to build furniture, whose values ​​are oak, pine, beech, walnut, etc.
– ordinals. They express qualities and whose values ​​are ordered hierarchically. For example: The marks of an exam, whose values ​​are insufficient, regular, good, very good and excellent.

• Dichotomous variables. They are those variables that acquire a value between two response options. For example: The variable is expressed in the question Do you live in your own home? and its values ​​are “yes” or “no”.

• Discrete variables. They are those variables whose values ​​are expressed with integer numbers. For example: The number of books in the libraries, whose values ​​can be 1, 2, 3, etc.
• continuous variables. They are those variables whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers. For example: The weight of cars, whose values ​​can be 1,860.89 kg; 2,031.74kg; etc.

Depending on whether or not they are influenced by other variables, They may be:

Examples of nominal polytomous qualitative variables

1. In a study of the animals of a region, the variable is the type of animal, whose values ​​can be mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, or fish.
2. In a study on the origin of electronic products, the variable is the country of origin, whose values ​​are Spain, Korea, China, United States, Mexico and Chile.
3. In a study of pets in a city, the variable is the type of pet, whose values ​​are dog, cat, rabbit, fish, bird, and hamster.
4. In a study on the choice of university majors, the variable is the chosen career, whose values ​​are law, architecture, medicine, business administration, etc.
5. In a study of consumers' favorite color of jackets, the variable is the color, whose values ​​are red, black, blue, green, violet, etc.

Examples of ordinal polytomous qualitative variables

1. In a survey of customers' opinions of a company's customer service, the variable is the degree of satisfaction, whose values ​​are very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied and very satisfied.
2. In a survey of consumer opinion of a product, the variable is the quality, whose values ​​are very bad, bad, regular, good, very good and excellent.
3. In a study of people's knowledge of English, the variable is the language level reached, whose values ​​are basic, intermediate, advanced and very advanced.
4. In a study on the time that people dedicate to sports activities, the variable is the frequency, whose values ​​are never, almost never, sometimes, almost always, always.
5. In a study on the classification of stars, one of the variables studied is the size, whose values ​​are very small, small, medium, large, and very large.

Examples of dichotomous qualitative variables

1. In a study of the characteristics of institutions, the variable is the type of management, whose values ​​are private management and public management.
2. In a study of students entering college, the variable is the condition that students have regarding the entrance exam, whose values ​​are pass and fail.
3. In a study of a disease, the variable is whether people in a population have contracted it, whose values ​​are yes and no.
4. In a study of the climate of a region, the variable is the rain record, whose values ​​are it rained and it did not rain.
5. In a study of people who have participated in an election, the variable is if they have gone to vote or not, whose values ​​are yes voted and did not vote.

Examples of discrete quantitative variables

1. In a study of population assets, the variable is the amount of property that people can own, whose values ​​are represented by integers.
2. In a study of the production of a computer factory, the variable is the number of computers made, whose values ​​are represented by integers.
3. In a study of the results of basketball games, the variable is the number of goals made by each team, whose values ​​are represented by integers.
4. In a study of the sales of the different stores of a company, the variable is the number of products that have been sold, whose values ​​are expressed as integers.
5. In a study of stars, the variable is the estimated number of stars in space, whose values ​​are expressed as integers.

Examples of continuous quantitative variables

1. In a study of the energy consumed by household appliances, the variable is the amount of electricity consumed by each, whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers.
2. In a comparative study of public spending by different governments, the variable is the amount of money used by each administration, whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers.
3. In a study of the climate of a region, the variable is temperature, whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers.
4. In a study of building characteristics, one of the variables is the height of the buildings, whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers.
5. In an economic study of inflation, the variable is the proportional increase or decrease in inflation, whose values ​​are expressed with real numbers.

Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables

1. An investigation seeks to establish the relationship between the time spent studying(independent variable) Y the qualifications obtained(dependent variable).
2. In an investigation on the health of the population, the relationship between the amount of time people spend doing physical exercise(independent variable) Y heart rate(dependent variable).
3. In an investigation in which it is wanted to know if a medicine is effective to cure a disease, the relationship between the number of patients who consumed the remedy (independent variable) Y the number of patients who have been cured (dependent variable).
4. In a study on ocean pollution, the influence of the amount of waste thrown into the sea (independent variable) in contamination levels (dependent variable).
5. In a study on the behavior of birds, it is studied the influence of the food they consume (independent variable) in the energy that these animals have to carry out different activities (dependent variable).

Variables in other disciplines

In other disciplines, the term variable refers to other concepts:

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