Specify Variables

A variable is a condition or characteristic that can take on different values or categories

A variable is like a set of things, and constant is one of those things.
EXAMPLE: Variable: personality
Constant: introvert or extrovert
A constant is a single value or category of a variable

A variable is a characteristic or attribute of an individual or an organization that

(a) researchers can measure or observe and (b) varies among individuals or organizations
Studied

Characteristics of individuals refer to personal aspects about them, such as their

grade level, age, or income level. An attribute, however, represents how an individual
or individuals in an organization feel, behave, or think. For example:
.
ANNUAL INCOME –characteristic (quantitative)
Now consider the variable annual income. How does it vary? It varies in amount, ranging from no income
at all to some very large amount of income. Therefore income is a quantitative variable. If you think
about how much money you made last year, you can determine your value on the variable annual income.
RELIGION – attribute (qualitative)
Now think the variable religion. How does variable vary? It varies in kind of type. For instance, it can
take on any of the categories standing for the different world religions: Christianity, Jadaism, Islam.

To practice, you write down three personal characteristics and three attributes that a person may have. For
instance, your personal doctor, your teacher, your best friend, your sister, etc.

QUANTITATIVE VARIABLE CATEGORICAL VARIABLES (qualitative

(characteristic)
A quantitative variable is a variable that varies
in degree or amount. It usually involves
numbers.
EXAMPLE: Age takes on numbers: 3 years
old, 40 years old
variables) (attribute)
A categorical variable is variable that varies in
type or kind; it is made of different types or
categories of a phenomenon
EXAMPLE: Personality type takes two types
of kinds: introvert and extrovert

Height Personality type

Weight Religion
Temperature Ethnicity
Annual income Method of therapy
Most aptitude test College major
Most achievement tests Political party identification
School size Type of school
Class size Marital status
Self-esteem level Type of teacher expectation
Grade point average Native language
Time spent in homework Teaching method
Age Biological sex
Anxiety Learning style
Job satisfaction Type of feedback
Reading performance Computer use (not)
Spelling accuracy Type of reading instruction
Number of performance errors Inclusion (or not)
Dropout rate Problem-solving strategy used

Next, consider what it means to “measure” these attributes or characteristics. Measurement

means that the researcher records information from individuals in one of two
ways:
◆ Asking them to answer questions on a questionnaire (e.g., a student completes
questions on a survey asking about self-esteem)
◆ Observing an individual and recording scores on a log or checklist (e.g., a
researcher watches a student playing basketball and records scores on dribbling
techniques)

In either case, student scores will probably vary (hence the name variable). When variables
vary, it means that scores will assume different values depending on the type of
variable being measured. For example,

◆ Gender varies by two possible scores: female _ 2 and male _ 1.

◆ Self-esteem varies by three possible scores: positive _ 3, neither positive nor negative
_ 2, and negative _ 1.

In the quantitative parent involvement study (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005), the authors, for example,
measured parents’ role construction (see Paragraph 18), the extent to which parents believed that it was
their responsibility to help the school educate their adolescent. The authors asked parents to rate on a 6-
point scale from “disagree very strongly” to “agree very strongly” statements such as “It’s important that
I let someone at school know about things that concern my teenager” (p. 167).

It’s important that I let someone at school know about things that concern my teenager.