title: A variety of variables.
abstract: In designing studies and developing plans for analyses, we must consider which tests are appropriate for the types of variables we are using. Here I describe the types of variables available to us, and I briefly consider the appropriate tools to use in their analysis.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Medicine; Research Scientist I, Scott and White Memorial Clinic and Hospital; and Research Assistant, Central Texas VA Health Care System, Temple, TX. Electronic address: djupiter@sw.org.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Jupiter
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D015981:Epidemiologic Factors; D012106:Research; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic
keywords: categorical variables; interval variables; ordinal variables; ratio variables