The Nature of

Variables
Definition of Variables

• Are “changing qualities or characteristics” of persons or

things like age, gender, intelligence, ideas,
achievements, confidence, and so on that are involved in
your research study.
• Made up of the root or base word “vary” which means to
undergo changes or to differ from, variables have
different or varying values in relation to time and
situation.
Types of Variables

• Independent variables are

those that cause changes in
the subject
• Dependent variables are
those that bear or manifest
the effects caused by the
independent variables.
 Independent or Dependent Variable

The numbers of cars sold and the price of the car.

Promotion affects employees’ motivation

How does stress affect the mental state of human beings?

Variable Relationships

In a scientific way of studying

cause-effect relationships, these
two variables, independent and
dependent are part and parcel of
the research because the first one
is the cause; the second, the
effect that you can subject to any
form of measurement.
Variable Relationships

However, as you carry out the research, it is possible that

one, two, or more variables or extra variables crop up to
create an impact on the relationship between the
independent and dependent variables. Being extra
variables, they form this other type of variable called
extraneous variables.
Variable Relationships

For example, in the case of SFG vs. IC, (the first as the
independent variable; the second as the dependent variable)
extraneous variables like age, gender, or personality traits may
suddenly surface to create effects on the relationships between
the two basic variables. Such extraneous variables are called
participant variables if they refer to the moods, emotions, or
intelligence of the subject; situational variables, if they
pertain to nature of the place: smelly, chilly, cold, hot,
spacious, and the like.
Other Types of Variables

• Extraneous variables are to be controlled by you, the

experimenter. But if they do not give in to your control,
they become confounding variables that can strongly
influence your study.
• Involved not within the research situation but outside the
research process, the extraneous variables exist as
“nuisance variables,” whose potency needs to go down
to prevent it from affecting the results negatively.
Other Types of Variables
(Russell 2013; Babbie 2013)

1. Constant – do not undergo any changes during an

experiment

2. Attribute – characteristics of people: intelligence,

creativity, anxiety, learning styles, etc.

3. Covariate – included in the research study to create

interactions with the independent and dependent variables
Other Types of Variables
(Russell 2013; Babbie 2013)

4. Continuous – quantitative in nature and is used in

interval or ratio scale of measurement

5. Dichotomous – has only two possible results: one or zero

6. Latent – cannot be directly observed like personality

traits
Other Types of Variables
(Russell 2013; Babbie 2013)

7. Manifest – can be directly observed to give proofs

to latent variables

8. Exogenous – found outside an identified model

9. Endogenous – found inside; as a part of identified

model
Write C if the sentence is correct or W if not.

________1. The experimenter relate himself/herself

with the independent variables.
________2. Extraneous variables are nuisance variables.
________3. Extraneous variables are as significant as
independent variables.
________4. All variables are prone to changes and
variations.
________5. All variables are controllable.
 Write C if the sentence is correct or W if not.

________6. The effects of something on dependent variables are

measurable.
________7. Only words can express the effects of variables on
dependent variables.
________8. The effects of something can be shown through
fractions and percentages.
________9. It is wrong to expose variables to changeable factors.
________10. Attribute variables have the same meaning as
participant’s variables.
 Identify the Independent and Dependent
variables in each research problem.
Research Query Independent Dependent
Variable Variable

1. How does logical thinking develop critical thinking?

2. What are the effects of Koreanovalas on the
Filipino value system?
3. In what way does collaborative learning increase
communicative competence?
4. To what extent does texting decrease students’
grammatical competence?
5. What corrupt practices trigger of one’s resignation?