Variables in Research

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.
independent variable should not be used when writing about nonexperimental designs.

Dependent variables
are those that bear or manifest the effects caused by the independent variables.

Examples:

1. The effects of classroom temperature in the academic performance of the students.

Independent: classroom temperature
Dependent: academic performance of the students

2. Does behavior modification reduce aggression in autistic children?

Independent: behavior modification
Dependent: level of aggression in autistic children

Extraneous variables
Extraneous variable are any variables that you are not intentionally studying in your experiment or test.
These are undesirable variables that might influence the outcome of an experiment.
These variables are to be controlled by the experimenter. But if they do not give in to your control, they
become confounding variables that can strongly influence your study.
The extraneous variables exist as nuisance variables, whose potency need to go down to prevent it
from affecting the results negatively.

Examples:
1. You want to know if online learning increases student understanding of statistics. One group uses an
online knowledge base to study, the other group uses a traditional text.
Extraneous variable: Prior knowledge of statistics.

2. Does high school achievement influence the academic achievement of university students?
Extraneous variable: orientation of the students, interests/course

3. The effects of classroom temperature in the academic performance of the students.

Extraneous variable: gender, clothing, adaptation

Confounding variables

directly affect how the independent variable acts on the dependent variable. It can muddle your results,
leading you to think that there is cause and effect when in fact there is not.
How to control extraneous variables?
Random sampling
Pre-test

Control variables
The factors or conditions that are kept the same (unchanged) in an experiment.
do not undergo any changes during an experiment.
 Examples:

1. Does changing the temperature of a ball affect the height the ball will bounce?
Control: same ball, dropped from the same height, dropped onto the same surface.

2. Does the amount of light affect the retention of information?

Control: type of information, age, environment

Intervening variables
A variable that explains a relation or provides a causal link between other variables.

Examples:

1. The statistical association between income and longevity.

Just having money does not make one live longer
Intervening: Access to healthcare.

2. The relationship between level of education and spending.

The higher a person's level of education, the more money she or he spends.
Intervening: Income

3. Does the amount of assets of bank companies related to the trust of the clients?
Higher assets increases the trust.
Intervening: stability

Moderating variables

It is the factor that is measured, manipulated, or selected by the experimenter to discover whether it
modifies the relationship of the independent variable to an observed phenomenon.
It functions as the secondary independent variable, and used to determine if it affects the relationship
between the studys primary independent variable and its dependent variable.
It strengthens or weakens the effect of independent variable.

Examples:

1. You want to compare the probability of hiring of male and female applicants in different departments of
a certain company.
Moderating: percentage of male and female in the departments.

2. Are children more engaged when taught by a teacher of the same gender?
Moderating: teaching style/strategy