Thread: types of variables vs levels of measurments

I'm confused about the levels of measurements: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.
So levels of measurements are a different concept than types of variables (numerical and categorical)? Do numerical variables normally get described using interval or ratio scale whereas categorical variables get described using nominal and ordinal scales?

Originally Posted by superdude

I'm confused about the levels of measurements: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.
So levels of measurements are a different concept than types of variables (numerical and categorical)? Do numerical variables normally get described using interval or ratio scale whereas categorical variables get described using nominal and ordinal scales?

nominal (categorical)-male, female; republican, democrat, etc:


ordinal- ranked values such as 1st place, 2nd place, etc; economic status:
no exciting test to do

interval- difference between the values is meaningful $600 vs $700: (not meaningful) how happy you are on a scale of 1-10:
Standard Deviation, regression, correlation, ANOVA

Ratio- defined 0 GPA,Kelvin:
All tests

Originally Posted by dwsmith

nominal (categorical)-male, female; republican, democrat, etc:

So nominal and categorical are the same thing?

Originally Posted by superdude

So nominal and categorical are the same thing?

Yes