Kategorivariabel

Kategorivariabel, also known as categorical variables or qualitative variables, are a type of variable that can take on one of a limited, and typically fixed, number of possible values, representing distinct categories or groups. These variables do not inherently possess a numerical order or magnitude, though some may have an ordinal relationship.

There are two main types of categorivariabel: nominal and ordinal. Nominal variables represent categories that have no intrinsic order. Examples include gender (male, female, non-binary), eye color (blue, brown, green), or marital status (single, married, divorced). The categories are simply labels and cannot be ranked.

Ordinal variables, on the other hand, represent categories that do have a natural order or ranking. However, the differences between these categories are not necessarily equal or quantifiable. Examples include education level (high school, bachelor's degree, master's degree), customer satisfaction ratings (dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied), or Likert scale responses (strongly disagree to strongly agree). While we know that a master's degree is higher than a bachelor's degree, the "distance" between them is not precisely defined.

Categorivariabel are fundamental in many fields, including statistics, social sciences, and market research. They are often used to group individuals or observations into distinct sets for analysis, comparison, and reporting. When working with categorivariabel, appropriate statistical methods must be employed, as standard numerical operations may not be applicable.