Practice Categorical Data in Statistics
Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.
Quick Recap
Data that can be sorted into groups or categories, like colors, types, or names, rather than measured with numbers.
Categorical data puts things in boxes by type, not by how much. Your favorite color, pet type, or sport are categories - you can't average them, but you can count how many in each group.
Example 1
easyClassify each of the following as categorical or numerical data: (a) Favourite pizza topping, (b) Height in centimetres, (c) Eye colour, (d) Number of siblings.
Example 2
mediumA survey asks: 'Rate your satisfaction: Very Unsatisfied, Unsatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied.' Is this categorical or numerical data? Can you calculate a mean satisfaction score?
Example 3
mediumA student collects data on 20 classmates: shoe size, favourite subject, number of pets, and birth month. Which variables are categorical and which are numerical? For each categorical variable, state the most appropriate graph to display it.
Example 4
hardA researcher records the following for 100 cars: colour (red, blue, white, black, other), fuel type (petrol, diesel, electric, hybrid), and fuel efficiency (km/L). (a) Identify all categorical variables. (b) Can the researcher find a correlation between colour and fuel type? Explain.