is chi square analysis used when the independent variable is nominal or ordinal 
a nominal variable is a categorical variable that differs by quality but whose numerical order could be irrelevant for instance asking somebody their favorite color would produce a nominal variable asking somebody s age on the other hand would produce an ordinal set of data chi square can be best applied to nominal data the bottom linea chi square statistic is used to measure the difference between the observed and expected frequencies of the outcomes of a set of variables it can be helpful for analyzing differences in categorical variables especially those nominal in nature the two different types of chi square tests test of independence and test of goodness of fit will answer different relational questions 