MathGloss/Q/Qualitative variable

Examples
The following are examples of qualitative variables:
 * Gender (male, female)
 * Eye color (brown, blue, green, hazel)
 * Online workshop participants' country of origin

Note that a qualitative variable may be coded to appear numeric but these numbers are meaningless, as in male=1, female=2.

Acknowledgements
Portions of this entry were adapted from
 * Qualitative Variables at Online Statistics Education: An Interactive Multimedia Course of Study. Project Leader: David M. Lane, Rice University. Retrieved 28 January 2012.