Indicator (statistics)

In statistics and research design, an indicator is an observed value of a variable, or in other words "a sign of a presence or absence of the concept being studied".[1]

For example, if a variable is religiosity, and a unit of analysis is an individual, then that one of potentially more numerous indicators of that individual's religiosity would be whether they attend religious services; others - how often, or whether they donate money to religious organizations.[1]

Numerous indicators can be aggregated into an index.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Earl Babbie (1 January 2012). The Practice of Social Research. Cengage Learning. p. 129. ISBN 1-133-04979-6.
  2. ↑ Hawken, Angela; Munck, Gerardo L. (24 April 2012). "Cross-National Indices with Gender-Differentiated Data: What Do They Measure? How Valid Are They?". Social Indicators Research 111 (3): 801–838. doi:10.1007/s11205-012-0035-7.
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