2.1 - Categorical Variables

Categorical variables are discussed in Sections 2.1 and P.1 of the Lock5 textbook.

Variables can be classified as categorical or quantitative. In this section of the lesson, we will be focusing on categorical variables. Categorical variables are those that provide groupings that may have no logical order, or a logical order with inconsistent difference between groups (e.g., the difference between 1 and 2 is not equivalent to the difference between 3 and 4).

This course includes many examples and practice problems for you. Many of these will apply the concepts that we learn to experiments involving rolling a die or randomly selecting a card from a standard 52-card deck. If you are unfamiliar with either of these, take a moment here to review.

Die

A standard die has 6 sides: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

52-Card Deck

A standard 52-card deck of playing cards has 13 Hearts, 13 Diamonds, 13 Spades, and 13 Clubs. Hearts (♥) and Diamonds (♦) are red suits. Spades (♠) and Clubs (♣) are black suits. For each suit, there is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Jacks, Queens, and Kings are "face cards."

Clubs SUIT Ace King Queen Jack 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Spades Hearts Diamonds