[R] Convert continuous variable into discrete variable

[Dennis Murphy]

Hi:

x<-runif(100,0,100)
u <- cut(x, breaks = c(0, 3, 4.5, 6, 8, Inf), labels = c(1:5))

Based on the x I obtained,

> table(u)
u
 1  2  3  4  5
 3  2  1  2 92

cut() or findInterval() are the two basic functions for discretizing a
numeric variable.

HTH,
Dennis

On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 2:29 PM, Michael Haenlein
<haenlein at escpeurope.eu> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I have a continuous variable that can take on values between 0 and 100, for
> example: x<-runif(100,0,100)
>
> I also have a second variable that defines a series of thresholds, for
> example: y<-c(3, 4.5, 6, 8)
>
> I would like to convert my continuous variable into a discrete one using the
> threshold variables:
>
> If x is between 0 and 3 the discrete variable should be 1
> If x is between 3 and 4.5 the discrete variable should be 2
> If x is between 4.5 and 6 the discrete variable should be 3
> If x is between 6 and 8 the discrete variable should be 4
> If x is larger than 8 the discrete variable should be 5
>
> Is there a straightforward way of doing this (besides working with several
> if statements in a row)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Michael
>
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