Question

What is the difference between a Quantitative and a Qualitative variable?

Do you consider one "better" than the other?

Why or why not?

Examples of each?

Answer 1

Quantitative variable: Variables whose values result from counting or measuring something. Quantitative means it can be counted, like “number of people per square mile.”

Qualitative variable: Variables that are not measurement variables. Qualitative means it is a description, like “brown dog fur.”

If variables can be added, it’s quantitative. Qualitative variables can’t be added.

In statistics numbers are assigned to make calculations easier. But! Assigning a number does not make them a quantitative variable; They are just qualitative variables that have been assigned a number.

So, for the collection and measurement of data, any of the two methods discussed above can be used. Although both have its merits and demerits, i.e. while qualitative variable lacks reliability, quantitative variable lacks description. Both are used in conjunction so that the data gathered is free from any errors. Further, both can be acquired from the same data unit only their variables of interest are different, i.e. numerical in case of quantitative data and categorical in qualitative data.