VARIABLES IN RESEARCH

Christian Benedict, RN

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Variables
• Defining variables
• Classification of variables

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• Variables are measured characteristics of concepts we are interested in
that vary from subject to subject.
Example : Sex of patients (male or female) is a variable ; age of a patients is a
variable.

Note: If a study that involves only patients of the same sex then sex cannot
be considered as variable.

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Definition
• Variables are concepts the researcher is interested in.
• A variable is something that varies or takes on different
values.
• E.g., Height, weight, recovery, blood pressure

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Types of Variables

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Classification of Research Variables
• Categorical(qualitiative) and Continuous/quantitative
• Independent and Dependent variables
• Predictor and Outcome variables
• Mediating and Moderating variables
• Control, Extraneous or Confounding variables
• Manifest and latent variables
• Exogenous and Endogenous variables

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Quantitative vs Qualitative Variable

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TYPES OF VARIABLES
• Variables have two types: Qualitative or Quantitative.
• The type of a variable is qualitative if the variable classifies or categorises.
Examples: sex (male, female); marital status (single, married, divorced);
temperature(high, low)

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TYPES OF VARIABLES

• The type of a variable is quantitative if the variable carries a notion of

amount of something or quantity of something.
Examples: Age in years; Systolic blood pressure in mmHG; Income in Ghana
Cedis; Temperature in Celsius.

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 Qualitative and Quantitative variables

Qualitative Quantitative
oNumeric or non numeric oNumeric
oNominal or ordinal oIndicates “how much?” or “How
oInterpolation of any two number many”
have no meaning oCan interpolate between any two
oData recorded in categories numbers
oCan be discrete but not continuous oCan be discrete or continuous

Assignment: Provide example of Assignment: Provide example of

qualitative variables quantitative variables
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EXERCISE
• What is the scale of
measurement of the following
variables?
• 1- Religion affiliation
• 2- Body Mass Index (BMI)
• 3- Food preferences (Fufu,
Banku, Waakyi)
• 4- Weight at birth in kg
• 5- Systolic blood pressure
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• For each of the variables, indicate
whether the measure is
• nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio
• – Number of cigarettes smoked per
day
• – Scores on an intelligence test
• – Religious preference
• – Military rank
• – Type of delivery
• – White blood cell count
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In-class exercise
For each variables listed below, indicate which is quantitative and
which is qualitative (categorical)
• – Type of beds in a hospital
• – Height in inches
• – Number of pregnancies a woman had
• – Amount of time spent sleeping
• – Body temperature in Degree Celsius
• – Self-esteem as measured on a 10-question scale
• – Annual income

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Independent vs Dependent variable
• Independent variable (Predictor) is a variable that is related
to or has effects on other variables.
• Presumed to be or possible cause of an outcome
• May be referred to as the predictor variable depending on
the type of experiment

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Independent vs Dependent variable
• Dependent variable (Outcome) is what is being influenced or affected
by the independent variable
• Presumed results of an experiment
• May be referred to as the outcome variable depending on the type of
experiment

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Independent vs Dependent variable
• Independent variables may be either manipulated or
selected
• A manipulated variable is a changed condition the
researcher creates during a study, also known as an
experimental or treatment variable
• A selected variable is an independent variable that
already exists

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Independent vs Dependent variable

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Mediator Variable
• It is the variable that explains or determines the relationship
between dependent and independent variables

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Moderating Variable

A variable that can affect the strength of the

relationship between a dependent and
independent variables

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Control, Confounding, Extraneous variables
• Variables that are not of interest to the researcher but
can change the results of a study.
• Factors which unintentionally influence the results of an
experiment, but aren’t the subject of the study.
• The task is to control these variables by reducing or
eliminating their effects

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Manifest Variable
• Also called manifest, observed, and indicator variables
• They refer to those variables that we have obtained actual
data
• E.g., Items on a scale/questionnaire (Depression, Inventory,
Memory).

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Latent Variables
• Variables that cannot be directly measured or observed and
can only be assessed indirectly.
• Example: intelligence

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