Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌳 With many branches 📝 With many choices
polytomous

polytomous

9.9
A question or measure with more than two answer choices, like red, blue, green
  • adjective
  • /ˌpɒlɪˈtoʊməs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : politómico
  • The survey included polytomous options, allowing respondents to select from multiple ratings rather than just a simple yes or no.
  • polytomous logistic regression
  • polytomous Universal Model

Examples

  • The quiz featured polytomous categories, enabling us to assess students' understanding at various levels of proficiency.

  • Using polytomous scales in research helps to capture a wider range of participant opinions and experiences.

  • These polytomous response choices were scored as 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, and 5 = Strongly Agree for negative items, and the positive-affect items were reversed for scoring so that a high score indicates high anxiety.

    Academic text (2009)

  • An ordinal or PLUM (Polytomous Universal Model) regression was conducted due to the scaled nature of the dependent variable.

    Academic text (2016)

Synonyms

polychotomous
vspolytomous
  • Specialized
9.9

Divided into more than two groups

is used mainly in tests, surveys, and questionnaires
multivalued
vspolytomous
  • Specialized
7.5

Having more than two possible values

is used especially in tests, surveys, or questionnaires rather than technical fields

How Many Categories

polytomous
  • Specialized
9.9
dichotomous
2 9.3

Surface Forms

polytomous positive

Morphology

polytomous = polytomy (opaque) = poly + tom + ous

The adjective is formed regularly from the technical noun 'polytomy' by adding '-ous'.

Etymology

Polytomous comes from Greek parts poly- meaning 'many' and -tomous meaning 'cut' or 'part', as in anatomy. So a polytomous question or variable is one that has 'many parts' or many answer choices, which is why researchers use it for items with more than two categories.