Variables

Variables is a form of characteristic which is expressed and can vary. A variable has attached a value of an actual number which contributes towards being a to describe a particular 'thing'. The value is perceived upon observation, for example, height, age, weight denotes a representation of interpreting people. The first step is to organize data in terms of how many variables will be present in the set of data and whether if the data are over many individuals, known as cross sectional data, for example, countries, household income.  Another type is, time series data which is repeated observations on a same individual over time. For a more richer source in information is panel data or longitudinal data whereby sometimes, observations are repeated for variables over time and on the individuals. Variables are measured in a scale of equal units (e.g. society in percentages, height in centimeters, income in pounds). Variables can either be positive, negative or neutral. In order to begin with, a data set will always consist of one variable and the analysis will be uni variate.