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So – in response to a tweet from @DocNadine Archi will be attempting to do a series of short posts on some ‘stats’ things. What would you like to see covered?<\/p>\nSo – in response to a tweet from @DocNadine Archi will be attempting to do a series of short posts on some ‘stats’ things. What would you like to see covered?<\/p>\n
A short and simple one today.\u00a0Continuous vs. Categorical<\/p>\n
Categorical variables, aka discrete variables. These come in only a fixed number of values – like dead\/alive, obese\/overweight\/normal\/underweight, Apgar score.<\/p>\n
Continuous variables. These can have any value between a theoretical minimum and maximum, like birth weight, BMI, temperature, neutrophil count.<\/p>\n
You spotted the Apgar score, yes? Why’s this number not a continuous variable? Well, I tend to think a) if its continuous, then double the number = twice as much (e.g. 2kg baby vs 4kg baby – not the case with Apgar 5 vs Apgar 10) and b) you can get any number from a continuous variable (like 2.456kg, unlike Apgar 3, 4, 5 …)<\/p>\n
You need to work out the difference because it dictates what statistical tests you should be thinking about using … mostly …<\/p>\n
– Archi<\/p>\n
(ps – Some statisticians call categorical data ‘qualitative’ and continuous data ‘quantitative’ just to add an extra layer of confusion)<\/p>\n
(pps – I initially thought it was\u00a0@TessaRDavis who triggered these thoughts. I’ve corrected it now. But\u00a0@TessaRDavis I’m sure will be joining in with some ideas for future topics ..?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So – in response to a tweet from @DocNadine Archi will be attempting to do a series of short posts on some ‘stats’ things. What would you like to see covered? A short and simple one today.\u00a0Continuous vs. Categorical […]<\/p>\n