VARIABLES

Quantitative
Objectives:
1. Determine the classifications of variables; and
2. Differentiate the classifications of variables
MEANING OF VARIABLES
• A variable is any entity that can take on different values.
So what does that mean? Anything that can vary can be
considered a variable.
• For instance, age can be considered a variable because
age can take different values for different people or for
the same person at different times. Similarly, country can
be considered a variable because a person's country can
be assigned a value.
Cont..
• A variable is a concept or abstract idea that can be
described in measurable terms. In research, this term
refers to the measurable characteristics, qualities, traits,
or attributes of a particular individual, object, or situation
being studied.
 Cont..
• Variables are properties or characteristics of some event,
object, or person that can take on different values or
amounts.
• Variables are things that we measure, control, or
manipulate in research. They differ in many respects,
most notably in the role they are given in our research
and in the type of measures that can be applied to
them.
Cont..
• Variables are those simplified portions of the complex
phenomena that you intend to study. The word variable
is derived from the root word “vary”, meaning, changing
in amount, volume, number, form, nature or type. These
variables should be measurable, i.e., they can be counted
or subjected to a scale.
Phenomenon: climate change
Examples of variables related to climate change:
• sea level
• temperature
• the amount of carbon emission
• the amount of rainfall
Phenomenon: Crime and violence in the streets
• Examples of variables related to crime and violence: number of
robberies
• number of attempted murders
• number of prisoners
• number of crime victims
• number of laws enforcers
• number of convictions
• number of car napping incidents
Others:
• Intelligence
• Gender
• Age
• Academic performance
• Emotional intelligence
Variables: characteristics of people
VARIABLE HOW TO GET(measure, VALUE CHANCES
count, enquire, observe,
compute)
age enquire 39 More likely
weight measure 69.1 kg Likely
height measure 138 cm unlikely
BMI Compute 36.3 Unlikely
gender observe F or m 50-50
No of kids enquire 2 Likely
look observe likely

Eye color observe Black, brown, white likely

CLASSIFICATIONS OF VARIABLES
VARIABLES CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS:
VARIABLES

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE
• Categorical • numeric
• Textual • numbers
• Cannot perform arithmetic • Can perform arithmetic (- + x)
(- + x) • Eg. Temperature, total weight
• Eg. Religion, stage of cancer etc
A. NUMERIC VARIABLES
• Values that describe a measurable numerical
quantity.
• Answers the questions “ how many” or “how
much”.
• These values are considered as quantitative data.
• CONTINUOUS VARIABLES AND DISCRETE
VARIABLES
1. CONTINUOUS VARIABLES
• A continuous variable is a numeric variable.
• Observations can take any value between a certain set of real
numbers.
• The value given to an observation for a continuous variable can
include values as small as the instrument of measurement
allows.
• Examples of continuous variables include height, time, age,
and temperature.
• INTERVAL AND RATIO
2. DISCRETE VARIABLES
• A discrete variable is a numeric variable.
• Observations can take a value based on a count from a set
of distinct whole values.
• A discrete variable cannot take the value of a fraction
between one value and the next closest value.
• Examples of discrete variables include the number of
registered cars, number of business locations, and number
of children in a family, all of of which measured as whole
units (i.e. 1, 2, 3 cars).
B. CATEGORICAL VARIABLES
• Categorical variables have values that describe a
'quality' or 'characteristic' of a data unit like 'what type'
or 'which category'.
• Categorical variables fall into mutually exclusive (in one
category or in another) and exhaustive (include all
possible options) categories.
• Therefore, categorical variables are qualitative variables
and tend to be represented by a non-numeric value.
• ORDINAL,NOMINAL,DICHOTOMOUS, POLYCHOTOMOUS
 1. ORDINAL VARIABLES
• An ordinal variable is a categorical variable.
• Observations can take a value that can be logically ordered or
ranked.
• The categories associated with ordinal variables can be ranked
higher or lower than another, but do not necessarily establish a
numeric difference between each category.
• Examples of ordinal categorical variables include academic grades
(i.e. A, B, C), clothing size (i.e. small, medium, large, extra large)
and attitudes (i.e. strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly
disagree).
2. NOMINAL VARIABLES
• A nominal variable is a categorical variable.
• Observations can take a value that is not able to
be organized in a logical sequence.
• Examples of nominal categorical variables include
sex, business type, eye colour, religion and brand.
3. DICHOTOMOUS VARIABLES
• These variables represents only two categories.
• Eg. Gender – Male or female
Answer- Yes or No
Veracity – true or false
4. POLYCHOTOMOU VARIABLES
• These variables have many categories.
• Eg. Educational attainment – elementary, high
school, college, graduate, post grad.
level of performance – excellent, very good,
good, satisfactory, poor
C. EXPERIMENTAL VARIABLES – identify cause and effect relationship
a. Independent variables – these variables are usually manipulated
in an experiment. It is also called as manipulated or explanatory
variable.
b. Dependent variables – these variables are usually affected by the
manipulation of the independent variable. It is also called as
response or predicted variable.
c. Extraneous variables – These variables are also called as
mediating or intervening variables. Existence is inferred but it
cannot be measured.
Examples:
Title: How stress affects mental state of
human beings?
Independent: Stress
Dependent: mental state of human beings
Extraneous:
Examples:
Title: An Experiment on the Methods of
Teaching and Language Achievements
Among elementary Pupils
Independent:
Dependent:
Extraneous:
Independent: Method of teaching
Dependent: Language Achievements
Extraneous: Ventilation Facilities;
physical ambiance
Examples:
Title: Use of Gardening Tools and Types of
fertilizer: Their Effects on the Amount of
Harvest
Independent:
Dependent:
Extraneous:
Independent: Use of gardening tools
and types of Fertilizer
Dependent: Amount of Harvest
Extraneous: Humidity level; types of
seeds/plants
D. Non-experimental Variables
– researcher cannot control predictor variable or
subjects instead relies on observations, interactions, or
interpretations to come to a conclusions
a. Predictor variables – portion of the experiment that is
being manipulated to see if it has effect on the
dependent variable.
b. Criterion Variables – influenced by the predictor
variables
• In statistical modeling, the predictor variable is analogous
to an independent variable and is used to predict an
outcome (the criterion variable).
• One of the main differences between
independent/dependent and criterion/predictor variables is
the concept of causation.
• You can manipulate independent variables in experimental
research and imply that manipulation causes some kind of
change in the dependent variable.
 Cont..
• However, in statistical modeling, correlation
(related) doesn’t necessarily mean causation
(cause and effect).
• All the correlation means is that there is some
relationship between the two variables. Therefore,
a change in the predictor variable may correlate
with a change in the criterion variable but it does
not mean the change caused anything!
 ACTIVITY 1: Classify the following variables:
Variable Quantity / levels of Measurement/
Quality classification
1. Age (yr)
2. Weight
3. Height
4. BMI
5. Gender
6. No. of kids
7. Eye colour
 Activity 2. Identify what type of experimental variable is being
referred to.
RESEARCH TITLE INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT
VARIABLE VARIABLE

1. The Effects of Types of Audio-visual Materials

to the Problem-solving Skills in Mathematics
2. Various Study Habits, and their Effects on the
Level of Performance in Management Subject
3. Effects of Types of Soil and Fertilizer on the
Growth of Papaya Tree
4. Effects of Mobile Gaming to Academic
Performance of the Students
 Activity 3. Identify what type of non- experimental variable is
being referred to.
RESEARCH TITLE PREDICTOR CRITERION
VARIABLE VARIABLE

1. Relationship of Leadership Styles and Levels of

Satisfaction of Customers of Selected Restaurants
2. Profile of Parents and Family Bonding: Their
Influence on Study Habits and Achievements
level
3. Types of Business and Managerial Skills
Towards Profitability Levels of Canteens
4. Disciplinary Mechanism and Behavioral
Changes Among Senior High School Students
Thank You!