Scientific Research Methodology

Unit 5: Identifying Variables

Al Ain University of Science and Technology

College of Business

Summer 1 2020-21

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 Outline

1 Variables and Concepts

2 Types of Variable
Viewpoint of causal relationships
Viewpoint of study design
Viewpoint of unit measurement

3 Measurement Scales

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 Variables and Concepts

Research Journey

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 Variables and Concepts

What is a Variable?

In the process of formulating a research problem (quantitative

research), there are two important considerations:
) The use of concepts
) The construction of hypothesis
Concepts are highly subjective as the understanding of them varies
from person to person. Therefore you have to make it as measurable
as possible by converting concepts to variables.
Variable: An image, perception or concept that is measurable.
) Variables take on different values often expressed as numbers.
) Some variables are incapable to directly measure like feeling, preferences,
values and sentiment. Thus, it may vary from person to person.
Examples:
) Age (years)
) Gender (male/female)
) Salary (in Dhs)
) Weight (in Kg)

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 Variables and Concepts

Difference between concepts and variables

Measurability is the main difference between a concept and a variable.
Concepts cannot be measured (e.g. satisfaction has different meaning
to different people)
Variables can be measured (e.g. persons weight in kg)

Concepts Variables
Subjective impression Measurable though the degree
No uniformity as to its of precision varies from scale to
Understanding among scale and from variable to vari-
different people able. (e.g. Attitude subjective,
Can’t be measured Income- objective)
Examples: Effectiveness, Examples: Gender,
satisfaction, self-esteem, income,
high achiever, etc. age, weight, price, etc.

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 Variables and Concepts

Converting concepts into variables

If you use a concept in your study, you need to think of operationaliza-
tion how it is measured.
To operationalize, you first have to think of indicators which then can
be converted into variables.
Indicator is a set of criteria reflective of the concept.

Concepts - -
Indicators Variables

Example:

Variables
Concept Indicators Variables Working definition

Rich/Poor 1. Income Total income per year Rich if income is >

$200,000
2. Value of all assets Total value of; home, Rich if total value of
cars, investments, etc. assets is > $2,000,000
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 Types of Variable

Types of Variable
Variables can be classified in a number of ways based on the causal rela-
tionship, study design and unit of measurement as shown below.

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

From a viewpoint of causal relationships

In studies attempting to investigate a causal relationship or association may

involve four types of variables:
Independent variable (IV):
) A variable responsible for bringing changes in a phenomenon or a situa-
tion.
) A phenomena that is manipulated by a researcher and is predicted to
have an effect on other phenomena (Williams & Monge, 2001).
) Examples: A teaching method, a medical treatment, or training regimen.
Dependent variable (DV):
) The outcome of the changes brought by an independent variable.
) A phenomenon that is affected by the researcher’s manipulation of an-
other phenomena.
) Examples: Achievement is the effect of a teaching method, cure or not
the effect of a medical treatment, and higher skill level or not (achieve-
ment) the effect of a training regimen.

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

From a viewpoint of causal relationships

Extraneous variables:
) Other variables, not measured in a study, may increase or decrease the
magnitude or strength of the relationship between IV and DV.
) Example:When investigating the effect of television watching (IV) on
achievement (DV), type of program is an extraneous variable.
Intervening (mediating) variable:
) A connecting or linking variable that links the IV and DV. This is a
situation where the relationship between IV and DV can’t be established
without the intervention of another variable.
) Example:When studying the association between income and longevity,
access to medical care is an intervening variable.
Intervening

Independent Dependent

Extraneous

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

Examples

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

Examples

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

Examples

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of causal relationships

Exercise

List and label the variables in the following situations and illustrate by
means of diagrams the relationship among the variables.
A study suggested that elementary students who watch TV more than 3 hours
a day are more likely to be overweight than students who watch less TV.
People are demotivated to consume alcohol knowing the consequence that it
damages the liver leads to liver cirrhosis. Perhaps behavioral therapy works
better for males and cognitive therapy works better for females.
Research suggests that children who eat hot breakfast at home perform better
at school. Many argue that not only hot breakfast but also parental care of
children before they go to school has an impact on children’s performance.
Lucy examined relationships between middle-school students’ self-esteem and
their performance in Mathematics. Her data analysis indicated that students
with higher self-esteem perform better than those with lower self-esteem. Her
investigation further revealed that students with higher self-esteem are more
willing to invest effort in solving mathematics problems.

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of study design

From a viewpoint of study design

In controlled experiments the independent (cause) variable may be intro-

duced or manipulated either by the researcher or by someone else who is
providing the service. In these situations there are two sets of variables.
Attribute variables:
) Variables that cannot be manipulated, changed or controlled and that
reflect the characteristics of a study population.
) Examples: gender, age, level of motivation, nationality, education, etc.
Active variables:
) Variables that can be manipulated, changed or controlled in a designed
experiment. They are also called experimental variables.
) Examples: Teaching methods, temperature, product design, etc.

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 Types of Variable Viewpoint of unit measurement

From the viewpoint of unit measurement

Quantitative variables
) Variables have values that represent quantities and can be classified as
either discrete or continuous.
(a) Discrete : have numerical values that arise from a counting process
(mea- suring how many). For example, household size, number of
sections, number of accidents, etc.
(b) Continuous : produce numerical responses that arise from a measuring
process (measuring how much). For example, age, income, distance, etc.
Qualitative (Categorical) variables
) Variables that have values that can only be placed into categories and
can be classified as:
(c) Dichotomous variable: has two categories, e.g. yes/no, male/female,
good/bad.
(d) Polytomous variable: has more than two categories, e.g. marital status:
single, married, divorced, widowed.
Note: the measurement of income in dirhams and fils is classified as
the measurement of a quantitative variable, whereas its subjective
mea- surement in categories ’low’, ’middle’ and ’high’ groups is a
qualitative variable.
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 Measurement Scales

Types of measurement scales

The way a variable is measured determines the type of analysis that
can be performed, the statistical procedures that can be applied to the
data, the way the data can be interpreted and the finding that can be
communicated.
There are four types of measurement scale:
Nominal or classification scale
Ordinal or ranking scale
Interval scale
Ratio scale
The scales are defined based on whether a variable has the following
four characteristics: classification, order, distance and origin.
In practice, categorical or qualitative variables tend to be reported in
nominal and ordinal scales while quantitative variables are reported in
interval or ratio scales.
Higher levels of measurement generally yield more information and are
appropriate for more powerful statistical analysis.
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 Measurement Scales

Measurement Scales: Nominal Scale

A nominal scale enables classification of individuals, objects or re-

sponses into categories based on a common or shared property or char-
acteristic (No natural order between the categories).
A nonnumeric label or numeric code may be used. If we use numerical
symbols to identify categories, these numbers are recognized as labels
only and have no quantitative value.
The counting of members in each group is the only possible arithmetic
operation when a nominal scale is employed.
Nominal scales are the least powerful of the four data types (no order
or distance relationship and no arithmetic origin).
Examples:
) Gender (male, female)
) Marital status (single, married, divorced, widowed)
) Work sector (public, private)
) Get promoted (yes, no)

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 Measurement Scales

Measurement Scales: Ordinal Scale

Ordinal scale not only categorizes variables in such a way as to classify

the various categories, it also rank-orders categories in some
meaningful way.
The use of an ordinal scale implies a statement of “greater than” or
“less than”, without stating how much greater or less.
Ordinal scales tell us relative order, but give us no information re-
garding differences between the categories (Observations need not be
equidistant).
Examples:
) Job performance (excellent, good, fair, poor)
) Course grade (A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, F)
) Income level (low, medium, high)
) Satisfaction level (very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neutral, satisfied, very
satisfied)
) Education level (less than high school, high school, some college, college,
postgraduate)
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 Measurement Scales

Measurement Scales: Interval Scale

The data have the properties of ordinal data, but only difference be-
tween two observations is meaningful (the scaled distance between 1
and 2 equals the distance between 2 and 3).
The zero point is arbitrary and does not mean the absence of the
quantity that we are trying to measure. That is, there is no absolute
zero or natural origin.
Ratios are meaningless in this scale.
Researchers treat many attitude scales as interval.
Examples:
) Centigrade and Fahrenheit temperature scales:
Note that 0 ◦ C means “cold,” not “no heat”; 40 ◦ C is not twice as warm
as 20 ◦ C.
) Calendar time
Note: Researchers treat many attitude scales (measured on Likert
scale) as interval.
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 Measurement Scales

Ratio Scale

The ratio data have all the properties of interval data and the ratio of
two values is meaningful.
Ratio scale contains an absolute zero or origin that indicates that noth-
ing exists for the variable at the zero point.
One can use all mathematical operations on this scale.
Ratio data represent the actual amounts of a variable.
Examples:
) In business and finance: salary, profit, age, price, etc.
) In pharmacy: concentration, drug dose, etc.
) In IT: installation time, CPU speed, download time,
etc.
) In general: age, height, weight, distance, etc.
Because of the measurement precision at higher levels, more powerful
and sensitive statistical procedures can be used. When we collect in-
formation at higher levels, we can always covert, rescale, or reduce the
data to arrive at a lower level.
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 Measurement Scales

Scales: Summary

The nominal scale highlights the differences by classifying objects or

persons into groups.
The ordinal scale provides some additional info by rank-ordering the
categories of the nominal scale.
The interval scale, not only ranks, but also provides us with
information on the magnitude of the differences in the variable.
The ratio scale indicates not only the magnitude of the differences, but
also the proportion.

Characteristics
Scale Classification Order Distance Origin

Nominal Yes No No No
Ordinal Yes Yes No No
Interval Yes Yes Yes No
Ratio Yes Yes Yes Yes

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 Measurement Scales

Data Measurement Levels

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 Measurement Scales

Exercise
Classify each of the following variables as either; qualitative or quantitative,
active or attribute, and identify the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal,
interval, ratio).
Prices on the stock market.
Marital status, classified as “married” or “never married”.
Number of computers owned by a household.
Asking whether a patient is allergic to any medication.
Grades: A, B, C, D, or F.
Quality of medical care at a hospital.
Number of errors in a C++ program.
Grade point average from 0.0 to 4.0
in increments of 0.1
The number of hours you spent studying each day during the past
week.
The temperature in cities throughout UAE.
The birth weights of babies who were born at Tawam Hospital last
week.
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