What are distinct values?

Distinct values refer to unique, non-repeated elements in a dataset. In the context of data analysis, distinct values are individual data points that are not duplicated within a specific variable or dimension. They represent different categories, levels, or items in the data.

For example, consider a dataset containing information about the colours of cars in a parking lot:

Red, Blue, Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, Blue, Green

In this dataset, there are six distinct values: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Blue. The distinct colours are Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow, making the count of distinct values four. Notice that even though ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ appear multiple times, they are still considered as single, unique values within the dataset.