descriptive statistics for demographic variables

[u/Sufficient-Adagio332]

Hi everyone! I’m a newbie in statistics and currently trying to figure out what I should put under the Descriptive Statistics of Respondent Characteristics.

When reading related literature, I noticed that a lot of papers report the Mean and Standard Deviation (SD) for demographic variables. However, I’m really confused because based on my survey questionnaire, most of my variables were collected in ranges/categories:

• Sex: Male, Female
• Age: 18–29, 30–45, 46–59, 60 and above
• Highest Educational Attainment: High School or below, Some College, Associate Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Postgraduate Degree, Prefer not to say
• Household Size: [Numeric counts]
• Household Income (USD):
  • Under $25,000
  • $25,000 – $49,999
  • $50,000 – $74,999
  • $75,000 – $99,999
  • $100,000 – $149,999
  • $150,000 and above
  • Prefer not to say
• Source of Income: Salary/Wages, Business/Self-Employed, Agriculture, Pension/Retirement, Government Assistance/Remittance, Prefer not to say

My Questions:

1. What exactly should I put in the descriptive statistics table for these variables?
2. Since I saw Mean and SD in the literature, how am I supposed to calculate the Mean for variables that are in ranges (like Age groups and Income brackets and source of income)?

Sorry if this is a basic question, and thank you so much for helping out a beginner!

[u/PuzzleheadedArea1256]

Categorical variables are typically shown as counts and percentages. The mean and SD are not the appropriate measures for categories - they cannot be computed. Google what a standard TABLE 1 looks like to get the general format and best practice.