Variables and Values

What is a Variable?

Suppose we want to conduct a study comparing political and economic characteristics of American states. To conduct this study, we would need to compare between states by looking at certain political and economic characteristics, such as the unemployment rate and the presidential election winner in that state. The unemployment rate and the election winner are examples of variables.

A variable is any characteristic that varies within our study. Different states have different unemployment rates and vote for different presidents. There are many additional characteristics in which states differ: to list a few, we can think of the population size, the political party of the governor, and the percentage of people employed in the industry sector. These are also examples of variables.

Variables and Values

You may be asked to give examples of values that a variable can take on. This is where some students may misunderstand or overcomplicate things. Let’s walk through some examples:

• If the variable is the 2020 presidential election winner in a given state, two examples of values are Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
• If the variable is the unemployment rate in any given state, a few examples of values are 3%, 10%, and 15%.
• If the variable is the political party of the governor of a state, two examples of values are Republican and Democrat.
• If the variable is a person’s year of birth, a few examples of values are 1970, 1990, and 2002.
• If the variable is a person’s level of education, a few examples of values are High School Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and Master’s Degree.

Think of each variable as a question, and examples of values as possible answers to that question: