A variable, also known as an indicator or a binary variable, is commonly used to represent two categories of a variable.In addition to binning, another common approach is to create new variables through "answers" transformations of existing variables.Examples of common mathematical data transformations include: Multiple select question. Raw data values are often transformed into percentages to analyze trends. A company might convert sales data into happy customers or sad customers. A retail company might convert customers' birth dates into ages. Transformation of date values is often performed to help bring useful information out of the data