Variables

DARRYL G. BAYONA
•One of the first terms that you
encounter in doing research is the word
variable. Failure to understand the
meaning and the usefulness of
variables in your study will prevent
you from doing good research
(Regoniel, 2012).
Variable
•It is a measurable characteristic that
varies.
•It may change from group to group.
person to person, or even within one
person over time. ("RESEARCH
METHODS: PLANNING: Variables,"
2017)
Variable
•It is not only something that we measure,
but also something that we can manipulate
and something we can control (Lund
Research Ltd, 2013).
•It is derived from the root word "vary",
meaning, changing in amount, volume,
number, form, nature or type.
Examples of Variables
•A variable is anything that varies or
changes in value.
•Variables take on two or more values.
•Because variable represents a quality that
can exhibit differences in value, usually
magnitude or strength, it may be said that
generally it is anything that may assume
different numerical or categorical values.
Examples of Variables
• Examples:
• Gender is a variable; it can take two values: male or female.
• Marital status is a variable; it can take on values of never
married, single, married, divorced, or widowed.
• Family income is a variable; it can take on values from zero
to billions of pesos.
• A person's attitude toward women empowerment is
variable; it can range from highly favorable to highly
unfavorable.
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• The cause variable, or the one that identifies forces
of conditions that act on something else, is the
independent variable.
• The variable that is the effect or is the result or
outcome of another variable is the dependent
variable (also referred to as outcome variable or
effect variable)
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• The cause variable, or the one that identifies forces
of conditions that act on something else, is the
independent variable.
• The variable that is the effect or is the result or
outcome of another variable is the dependent
variable (also referred to as outcome variable or
effect variable)
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• Different labels associated with IV and DV:
Independent variable Dependent variable
Presumed cause Presumed effect
Stimulus Response
Predicted from Predicted to
Antecedent Consequence
Manipulated Measured outcome
Predictor Criterion
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• EXAMPLE: You design a study to test whether changes
in room temperature have an effect on science test
scores.
• Independent Variable: Temperature of the room
• You vary the room temperature by making it cooler for half the
participants, and warmer for the other half.
• Dependent Variable: Science test scores
• You measure the math skills of all participants using a standardized
test and check whether they differ based on room temperature.
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• Research Question: Do tomatoes grow fastest
under fluorescent, incandescent, or natural light?
• Independent Variable: Type of light the tomato
plant is grown under
• Dependent Variable: The rate of growth of the
tomato plant
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• Research Question: What is the effect of
intermittent fasting on blood sugar levels?
• Independent Variable: Presence or absence of
intermittent fasting
• Dependent Variable: Blood sugar levels
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• Research Question: Is medical marijuana
effective for pain reduction in people with chronic
pain?
• Independent Variable: Presence or absence of
medical marijuana use
• Dependent Variable: Frequency of pain; Intensity
of pain
Kinds of Variables
1. Dependent and Independent Variables
• Research Question: To what extent does remote
working increase job satisfaction?
• Independent Variable: Type of work environment
(remote or in office)
• Dependent Variable: Job satisfaction self-reports
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical and Continuous Variables
• Categorical variables – also known as discrete or
qualitative variables.
• they represent groupings of some kind
• sometimes recorded as numbers, but the numbers
represent categories rather than actual amounts of things
• can be further categorized as either
• Ordinal
• Nominal
• Dichotomous (Binary)
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical Variables
• Ordinal variables
• variables that have two or more categories that can be
ordered or ranked.
• Examples:
• Education level, Income brackets, etc.
• If you asked someone if they liked the policies of
government, they could answer either “Not very much”,
“They are OK” or “Yes, a lot”
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical Variables
• Ordinal variables
• While you can rank them, we cannot place a value on them. In this
type, distances between attributes do not have any meaning.
• For example, you used educational attainment as a variable on the
survey, you might code elementary school graduates = 1, high
school graduates = 2, college undergraduate = 3, and college
graduate = 4.
• In this measure, a higher number means better education. Even though we
can rank these from lowest to highest, the spacing between the values may
not be the same across the levels of the variables. The distance between 3
and 4 is not the same as the distance between 1 and 2.
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical Variables
• Nominal variables
• variables that have two or more categories, but which do
not have an intrinsic order
• Examples:
• Types of property: houses, condos, co-ops or bungalows
• Where people live in the Philippines, by geographical
location: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao
• Other examples: eye color, business type, religion, political
affiliation, basketball fan affiliation, etc.
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical Variables
• Binary (Dichotomous) variables
• are nominal variables which have only two categories
• Examples:
• Gender: “male” or “female”
• If you asked a person if he owned a mobile phone: “Yes”
or “No”
• Type of property: residential or commercial
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
2. Categorical and Continuous Variables
• Continuous variables – also known as
quantitative variables.
• can take an uncountable set of values or infinite set
of values
• variables whose value is obtained by measuring
• can be further categorized as either
• Interval
• Ratio
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Interval variables
• variables for which their central characteristic is that they can
be measured along a continuum and they have a
numerical value
• represent a range of numerical values
• have a consistent unit of measurement and the numerical
difference between any two values is meaningful
• allow for meaningful mathematical operations, such as
addition and subtraction
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Interval variables
• Examples:
• Temperature measured in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit:
The difference between 2oC and 3oC is the same as 3oC to
4oC.
• Voltage: 110 and 120 volts (AC); 220 and 240 volts (AC)
• Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores: The distance
between 1200 and 1300 is the same as that between 1300
and 1400, yet there isn’t an absolute zero indicating the
complete lack of aptitude or knowledge.
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Interval variables
• Examples:
• Years AD: The scale of years AD (Anno Domini) is interval. Counting
years begins not from an absolute zero point but from the designated start
of the Gregorian calendar. The year 0 AD does not signify the absence of
time.
• Dates: The interval between any two dates is consistent. However,
there is no true zero point in any calendar system.
• Shoe sizes: using any standardized measure, be it the US, UK or
EU systems. For example in US, the difference between Size 8 and
Size 9 is an increment of one unit, but zero does not suggest that
the foot size is non-existent.
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Ratio variables
• are interval variables, but with the added condition that 0
(zero) of the measurement indicates that there is
none of that variable
• are quantitative variables that have a clear definition
of zero and have consistent intervals between each
category, allowing for calculations of magnitude
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Ratio variables
• Examples:
• Age: This well-known ratio variable example works as follows:
Person A may be twice as old as person B, exemplifying the
characteristics of ratio variables.
• Height: Measurement of height, in units such as centimeters
or inches, is a ratio variable. Zero height indicates no height,
building on the definition of ratio variables.
• Weight: It can be determined accurately in kilograms or
pounds, and zero weight signifies the absence of mass.
Kinds of Variables
2. Continuous Variables
• Ratio variables
• Examples:
• Income: An individual’s income, calculated on a yearly, monthly, or hourly
basis, is a typical ratio variable. With income, we understand that the zero
point signifies an absence of income.
• Number of Employees in a Company: The total number of employees in
an organization is a perfect instance of a ratio variable. Zero employees
would mean there are no workers in the organization.
• Amount of Rainfall: The amount of rainfall (e.g., in millimeters or inches)
represents a ratio variable, as zero rainfall implies no precipitation.
• Temperature (Kelvin): Temperature measured in Kelvin is a ratio variable
because it has a clear definition of zero.
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
3. Intervening and Moderating Variables
• Intervening Variable
• also known as a mediator or mediating variable
• a hypothetical variable used to explain causal links
between other variables
• cannot be observed in an experiment (that’s why they are
hypothetical)
• Boston University: “A control variable that follows an
independent variable but precedes the dependent
variable in a causal sequence.”
Kinds of Variables
Intervening Variable
• Example: There is an association between being poor and having a shorter life
span. Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean that will lead to an early death,
so other hypothetical variables are used to explain the phenomenon. These
intervening variables could include: lack of access to healthcare or poor nutrition.
Kinds of Variables
3. Intervening and Moderating Variables
• Moderating Variable
• a third variable that affects the strength of the
relationship between a dependent and independent
variable
• Changes the relationship between dependent and
independent variables by strengthening or weakening
the intervening variable's effect
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
4. Extraneous and Confounding Variables
• Extraneous Variable
• is anything that could influence the dependent
variable.
• These unwanted variables can unintentionally change a
study's results or how a researcher interprets those
results.
Kinds of Variables
4. Extraneous and Confounding Variables
• Confounding Variables
• influences the dependent variable, and also
correlates with or causally affects the independent
variable
• can invalidate your experiment results by making
them biased or suggesting a relationship between
variables exists when it does not
Kinds of Variables
Kinds of Variables
6. Other Variables
• Control, or controlling, variables have no effect
on other variables and are often kept the same
throughout an experiment to prevent bias.
• Composite variables are often made up of two
or more variables that are highly related to one
another conceptually or statistically.
Kinds of Variables