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Variables

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International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science

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A variable is a characteristic that can take several values of a set of possible data upon which a measure or a quality can be applied. Thus, a variable varies in value among subjects in a sample or population. Each subject of the observed set has a particular value for a variable.

Examples of variables are gender (with values being female and male), nationality (American, French, German, …), level of education (Ph.D., Master, Bachelor, Baccalaureate, …), number of children in a family (0, 1, 2, …), and annual income in Euros.

Variables can be classified in many ways and terminology varies between different fields. For example, we may classify variables as (a) qualitative or quantitative, (b) independent or dependent, (c) univariate (one dimensional) or multivariate (multidimensional), (d) latent (hidden) or observed, (e) endogenous or exogenous, (f) explanatory, intermediate, or response, and (g) monitoring or moderating. Classification is further complicated because mixtures of...

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References and Further Reading

  • Anderson DR, Sweeney DJ, Williams TA (2008) Essentials of statistics for business and economics, 5th edn. Cincinnati, South Western Educational Publishing

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  • Berenson ML, Levine DM, Krehbiel TC (2007) Basic business statistics: Concepts and applications, 11th edn. New Yersey, Prentice Hall

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  • Dehon C, Droesbeke JJ, Vermandele C (2008) Eléments de statistique, 5th edn. Editions de l’Universié de Bruxelles, Ellipses, Bruxelles, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Wonnacott TH, Wonnacott RJ (1990) Introductory statistics for business and economics, 4th edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Rabija Somun-Kapetanović

Authors
  1. Rabija Somun-Kapetanović
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Economics, University of Kragujevac, City of Kragujevac, Serbia

    Miodrag Lovric

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Somun-Kapetanović, R. (2011). Variables. In: Lovric, M. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_99

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