VARIABLES

Very simply, a VARIABLE is a measurable characteristic that varies. It

may change from group to group, person to person, or even within one
person over time. There are six common variable types:

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

. . . show the effect of manipulating or introducing the independent variables. For example, if
the independent variable is the use or non-use of a new language teaching procedure, then the
dependent variable might be students' scores on a test of the content taught using that
procedure. In other words, the variation in the dependent variable depends on the variation in
the independent variable.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

. . . are those that the researcher has control over. This "control" may involve manipulating
existing variables (e.g., modifying existing methods of instruction) or introducing new
variables (e.g., adopting a totally new method for some sections of a class) in the research
setting. Whatever the case may be, the researcher expects that the independent variable(s)
will have some effect on (or relationship with) the dependent variables.

INTERVENING VARIABLES

. . . refer to abstract processes that are not directly observable but that link the independent
and dependent variables. In language learning and teaching, they are usually inside the
subjects' heads, including various language learning processes which the researcher cannot
observe. For example, if the use of a particular teaching technique is the independent variable
and mastery of the objectives is the dependent variable, then the language learning processes
used by the subjects are the intervening variables.

MODERATOR VARIABLES

. . . affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables by modifying
the effect of the intervening variable(s). Unlike extraneous variables, moderator variables are
measured and taken into consideration. Typical moderator variables in TESL and language
acquisition research (when they are not the major focus of the study) include the sex, age,
culture, or language proficiency of the subjects.

CONTROL VARIABLES

Language learning and teaching are very complex processes. It is not possible to consider
every variable in a single study. Therefore, the variables that are not measured in a particular
study must be held constant, neutralized/balanced, or eliminated, so they will not have a
biasing effect on the other variables. Variables that have been controlled in this way are
called control variables.

EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

. . . are those factors in the research environment which may have an effect on the dependent
variable(s) but which are not controlled. Extraneous variables are dangerous. They may
damage a study's validity, making it impossible to know whether the effects were caused by
 the independent and moderator variables or some extraneous factor. If they cannot be
controlled, extraneous variables must at least be taken into consideration when interpreting
results.

C:\rsm\y520\sec5982_fall02\week_2\variable_types.fm 1
Types of Variables
Binary variable Obsevations (i.e., dependent variables) that occur in one of two possible states,
often labelled zero and one. E.g., “improved/not improved” and “completed
task/failed to complete task.”
Categorical Variable Usually an independent or predictor variable that contains values indicating
membership in one of several possible categories. E.g., gender (male or female),
marital status (married, single, divorced, widowed). The categories are often
assigned numerical values used as lables, e.g., 0 = male; 1 = female. Synonym
for nominal variable.
Confounding variable A variable that obscures the effects of another variable. If one elementary read-
ing teacher used used a phonics textbook in her class and another instructor
used a whole language textbook in his class, and students in the two classes were
given achievement tests to see how well they read, the independent variables
(teacher effectiveness and textbooks) would be confounded. There is no way to
determine if differences in reading between the two classes were caused by
either or both of the independent variables.
Continuous variable A variable that is not restricted to particular values (other than limited by the
accuracy of the measuring instrument). E.g., reaction time, neuroticism, IQ.
Equal size intervals on different parts of the scale are assumed, if not demon-
strated. Synonym for interval variable.
Control variable An extraneous variable that an investigator does not wish to examine in a study.
Thus the investigator controls this variable. Also called a covariate.
Criterion variable The presumed effect in a nonexperimental study.
Dependent variable The presumed effect in an experimental study. The values of the dependent
variable depend upon another variable, the independent variable. Strictly
speaking, “dependent variable” should not be used when writing about nonex-
perimental designs.
Dichotomous variable Synonym for binary variable
Discrete variable Variable having only integer values. For example, number of trials need by a stu-
dent to learn a memorization task.
C:\rsm\y520\sec5982_fall02\week_2\variable_types.fm 2
Dummy Variables Created by recoding categorial variables that have more than two categories into
a series of binary variables. E.g., Marital status, if originally labelled 1=married,
2=single, and 3=divorced, widowed, or separated, could be redefined in terms
of two variables as follows: var_1: 1=single, 0=otherwise. Var_2: 1=divorced,
widowed, or separated, 0=otherwise.
For a married person, both var_1 and var_2 would be zero. In general, a cate-
gorical variable with
k
categories would be recoded in terms of
k
- 1 dummy
variables. Dummy variables are used in regression analysis to avoid the unrea-
sonable assumption that the original numerical codes for the categories, i.e., the
values 1, 2, ...,
k
, correspond to an interval scale. Use: to place cases in specific
groups.
Endogenous variable A variable that is an inherent part of the system being studied and that is deter-
mined from within the system. A variable that is caused by other variables in a
causal system.
Exogenous variable A variable entering from and determined from outside of the system being stud-
ied. A causal system says nothing about its exogenous variables.
Independent variable The presumed cause in an experimental study. All other variables that may
impact the dependent variable are controlled. The values of the independent
variable are under experimenter control. Strictly speaking, “independent vari-
able” should not be used when writing about nonexperimental designs.
Interval variable Synonym for continuous variable
Intervening variable A variable that explains a relation or provides a causal link between other vari-
ables. Also called by some authors “mediating variable” or “intermediary vari-
able.” Example: The statistical association between income and longevity needs
to be explained because just having money does not make one live longer. Other
variables intervene between money and long life. People with high incomes tend
to have better medical care than those with low incomes. Medical care is an
intervening variable. It mediates the relation between income and longevity.
Latent variable An underlying variable that cannot be observed. It is hypothesized to exist in
order to explain other variables, such as specific behaviors, that can be
observed. Example: if we observe the voting records of members of the House of
Representatives on spending bills for the military, foodstamps, law enforce-
ment, and promoting business investment, we might find underlying patterns
that could be explained by postulating latent variables such as conservatism and
liberalism.

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o Neurology Lesson 06
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 Management Variable is central idea in research. Simply defined, variable is a concept that varies. There are two
types of concepts: those that refer to a fixed phenomenon and those that vary in quantity, intensity, or
 Marketing amount (e.g. amount of education). The second type of concept and measures of the concept are
variables. A variable is defined as anything that varies or changes in value. Variables take on two or
 Mass Comm more values. Because variable represents a quality that can exhibit differences in value, usually
magnitude or strength, it may be said that a variable generally is anything that may assume different
 Natural Sciences numerical or categorical values. Once you begin to look for them, you will see variables everywhere.
o Biology For example gender is a variable; it can take two values: male or female. Marital status is a variable; it
o Chemistry 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 Rupees. A person's attitude toward women
o Physics empowerment is variable; it can range from highly favorable to highly unfavorable. In this way the
o Space Science - variation can be in quantity, intensity, amount, or type; the examples can be production units,
Astronomy absenteeism, gender, religion, motivation, grade, and age. A variable may be situation specific; for
example gender is a variable but if in a particular situation like a class of Research Methods if there are
 Political Science only female students, then in this situation gender will not be considered as a variable.
o International Types of Variable
Relations 1. Continuous and Discontinuous variables
Variables have different properties and to these properties we assign numerical values. If the values of a
o Public variable can be divided into fractions then we call it a continuous variable. Such a variable can take
Administration infinite number of values. Income, temperature, age, or a test score are examples of continuous
 Social Sciences variables. These variables may take on values within a given range or, in some cases, an infinite set.
Any variable that has a limited number of distinct values and which cannot be divided into fractions, is a
o Anthropology discontinuous variable. Such a variable is also called as categorical variable or classificatory variable,
o Economics or discrete variable. Some variables have only two values, reflecting the presence or absence of a
o Psychology property: employed-unemployed or male-female have two values. These variables are referred to as
dichotomous. There are others that can take added categories such as the demographic variables of race,
o Sociology religion.
 | All such variables that produce data that fit into categories are said to be
 SiteMap discrete/categorical/classificatory, since only certain values are possible. An automotive variable, for
example, where "Chevrolet" is assigned a 5 and "Honda" is assigned a 6, provides no option for a 5.5
 Links (i.e. the values cannot be divided into fractions).
2. Dependent and Independent Variables
Researchers who focus on causal relations usually begin with an effect, and then search for its causes.
The cause variable, or the one that identifies forces or 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). The independent variable is
"independent of" prior causes that act on it, whereas the dependent variable "depends on" the cause.
It is not always easy to determine whether a variable is independent or dependent. Two questions help
to identify the independent variable. First, does it come before other variable in time? Second, if the
variables occur at the same time, does the researcher suggest that one variable has an impact on another
variable? Independent variables affect or have an impact on other variables. When independent
variable is present, the dependent variable is also present, and with each unit of increase in the
independent variable, there is an increase or decrease in the dependent variable also. In other words, the
variance in dependent variable is accounted for by the independent variable. Dependent variable is also
referred to as criterion variable.
19
Research Methods STA630
VU
In statistical analysis a variable is identified by the symbol (X) for independent variable and by the
symbol (Y) for the dependent variable. In the research vocabulary different labels have been associated
with the independent and dependent variables like:
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Presumed cause
presumed effect
Stimulus
Response
Predicted from ...
Predicted to ...
Antecedent
Consequence
Manipulated
Measured outcome
Predictor
Criterion
.
Research studies indicate that successful new product development has an influence on the stock market
price of a company. That is, the more successful the new product turns out to be, the higher will be the
stock market price of that firm. Therefore, the success of the
New product is the independent variable, and stock market price the dependent variable.
The degree of perceived success of the new product developed will explain the variance in the stock
market price of the company.
It is important to remember that there are no preordained variables waiting to be discovered "out there"
that are automatically assigned to be independent or dependent. It is in fact the product of the
researcher's imagination demonstrated convincingly.
3. Moderating Variables
A moderating variable is one that has a strong contingent effect on the independent variable-dependent
variable relationship. That is, the presence of a third variable (the moderating variable) modifies the
original relationship between the independent and the dependent variable.
For example, a strong relationship has been observed between the quality of library facilities (X) and the
performance of the students (Y). Although this relationship is supposed to be true generally, it is
nevertheless contingent on the interest and inclination of the students. It means that only those students
who have the interest and inclination to use the library will show improved performance in their studies.
In this relationship interest and inclination is moderating variable i.e. which moderates the strength of
the association between X and Y variables.
4. Intervening Variables
A basic causal relationship requires only independent and dependent variable. A third type of variable,
the intervening variable, appears in more complex causal relationships. It comes between the
independent and dependent variables and shows the link or mechanism between them. Advances in
knowledge depend not only on documenting cause and effect relationship but also on specifying the
mechanisms that account for the causal relation. In a sense, the intervening variable acts as a dependent
variable with respect to independent variable and acts as an independent variable toward the dependent
variable.
A theory of suicide states that married people are less likely to commit suicide than single people. The
assumption is that married people have greater social integration (e.g. feelings of belonging to a group
or family). Hence a major cause of one type of suicide was that people lacked a sense of belonging to
group (family). Thus this theory can be restated as a three-variable relationship: marital status
(independent variable) causes the degree of social integration (intervening variable), which affects
suicide (dependent variable). Specifying the chain of causality makes the linkages in theory clearer and
helps a researcher test complex relationships.
Look at another finding that five-day work week results in higher productivity. What is the process of
moving from the independent variable to the dependent variable? What exactly is that factor which
theoretically affects the observed phenomenon but cannot be seen? Its effects must be inferred from the
effects of independent variable on the dependent variable. In this work-week hypothesis, one might
20
Research Methods STA630
VU
view the intervening variable to be the job satisfaction. To rephrase the statement it could be: the
introduction of five-day work week (IV) will increase job satisfaction (IVV), which will lead to higher
productivity (DV).
5. Extraneous Variables
An almost infinite number of extraneous variables (EV) exist that might conceivably affect a given
relationship. Some can be treated as independent or moderating variables, but most must either be
assumed or excluded from the study. Such variables have to be identified by the researcher. In order to
identify the true relationship between the independent and the dependent variable, the effect of the
extraneous variables may have to be controlled. This is necessary if we are conducting an experiment
where the effect of the confounding factors has to be controlled. Confounding factors is another name
used for extraneous variables.
Relationship among Variables
Once the variables relevant to the topic of research have been identified, then the researcher is interested
in the relationship among them. A statement containing the variable is called a proposition. It may
contain one or more than one variable. The proposition having one variable in it may be called as
univariate proposition, those with two variables as bivariate proposition, and then of course multivariate
containing three or more variables. Prior to the formulation of a proposition the researcher has to
develop strong logical arguments which could help in establishing the relationship. For example, age at
marriage and education are the two variables that could lead to a proposition: the higher the education,
the higher the age at marriage. What could be the logic to reach this conclusion? All relationships have
to be explained with strong logical arguments.
If the relationship refers to an observable reality, then the proposition can be put to test, and any testable
proposition is hypothesis.
21
Table of Contents:

1. INTRODUCTION, DEFINITION & VALUE OF RESEARCH

2. SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF RESEARCH & ITS SPECIAL
FEATURES
3. CLASSIFICATION OF RESEARCH:Goals of Exploratory Research
4. THEORY AND RESEARCH:Concepts, Propositions, Role of Theory
5. CONCEPTS:Concepts are an Abstraction of Reality, Sources of
Concepts
6. VARIABLES AND TYPES OF VARIABLES:Moderating Variables
7. HYPOTHESIS TESTING & CHARACTERISTICS:Correlational
hypotheses
8. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:Where to find the Research Literature
9. CONDUCTING A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW:Write the
Review
10. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:Make an inventory of variables
11. PROBLEM DEFINITION AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL:Problem
Definition
12. THE RESEARCH PROCESS:Broad Problem Area, Theoretical
Framework
13. ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH:Ethical Treatment of Participants
14. ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH (Cont):Debriefing, Rights to
Privacy
15. MEASUREMENT OF CONCEPTS:Conceptualization
16. MEASUREMENT OF CONCEPTS (CONTINUED):Operationalization
17. MEASUREMENT OF CONCEPTS (CONTINUED):Scales and
Indexes
18. CRITERIA FOR GOOD MEASUREMENT:Convergent Validity
19. RESEARCH DESIGN:Purpose of the Study, Steps in Conducting a
Survey
20. SURVEY RESEARCH:CHOOSING A COMMUNICATION MEDIA
21. INTERCEPT INTERVIEWS IN MALLS AND OTHER HIGH-
TRAFFIC AREAS
22. SELF ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES
(CONTINUED):Interesting Questions
23. TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION:Guidelines for Questionnaire
Design
24. PILOT TESTING OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE:Discovering errors in
the instrument
25. INTERVIEWING:The Role of the Interviewer, Terminating the
Interview
26. SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TERMINOLOGY:Saves Cost, Labor, and
Time
27. PROBABILITY AND NON-PROBABILITY
SAMPLING:Convenience Sampling
28. TYPES OF PROBABILITY SAMPLING:Systematic Random Sample
29. DATA ANALYSIS:Information, Editing, Editing for Consistency
30. DATA TRANSFROMATION:Indexes and Scales, Scoring and Score
Index
31. DATA PRESENTATION:Bivariate Tables, Constructing Percentage
 Tables
32. THE PARTS OF THE TABLE:Reading a percentage Table
33. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH:The Language of Experiments
34. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH (Cont.):True Experimental Designs
35. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH (Cont.):Validity in Experiments
36. NON-REACTIVE RESEARCH:Recording and Documentation
37. USE OF SECONDARY DATA:Advantages, Disadvantages, Secondary
Survey Data
38. OBSERVATION STUDIES/FIELD RESEARCH:Logic of Field
Research
39. OBSERVATION STUDIES (Contd.):Ethical Dilemmas of Field
research
40. HISTORICAL COMPARATIVE RESEARCH:Similarities to Field
Research
41. HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH (Contd.):Locating
Evidence
42. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION:The Purpose of FGD, Formal Focus
Groups
43. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (Contd.):Uses of Focus Group
Discussions
44. REPORT WRITING:Conclusions and recommendations, Appended
Parts
45. REFERENCING:Book by a single author, Edited book, Doctoral
Dissertation

Variables in research

Explanations > Social Research > Measurement > Variables in research

Definitions | Type | Independence | Control | Correlation | Cause | See also

When doing social research, variables are both important and tricky. Here's a few words about them.

Definitions

A variable is something that can change, such as 'gender' and are typically the focus of a study.

Attributes are sub-values of a variable, such as 'male' and 'female'. An exhaustive list contains all possible answers,
for example gender could also include 'male transgender' and 'female transgender' (and both can be pre- or post-
operative).

Mutually exclusive attributes are those that cannot occur at the same time. Thus in a survey a person may be
requested to select one answer from a list of alternatives (as opposed to selecting as many that might apply).

Quantitative data is numeric. This is useful for mathematical and statistical analysis that leads to a predictive
formula.

Qualitative data is based on human judgement. You can turn qualitative data into quantitative data, for example by
counting the proportion of people who hold a particular qualitative viewpoint.

Units are the ways that variables are classified. These include: individuals, groups, social interactions and objects.
Types

Descriptive variables are those that which will be reported on, without relating them to anything in particular.

Categorical variables result from a selection from categories, such as 'agree' and 'disagree'. Nominal and ordinal
variables are categorical.

Numeric variables give a number, such as age.

Discrete variables are numeric variables that come from a limited set of numbers. They may result from , answering
questions such as 'how many', 'how often', etc.

Continuous variables are numeric variables that can take any value, such as weight.

Independence

An independent variable is one is manipulated by the researcher. It is like the knob on a dial that the researcher
turns. In graphs, it is put on the X-axis.

A dependent variable is one which changes as a result of the independent variable being changed, and is put on the
Y-axis in graphs.

The holy grail for researchers is to be able to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent
variables, such that if the independent variable is changed, then the researcher will be able to accurately predict how
the dependent variable will change.

Extraneous variables are additional variables which could provide alternative explanations or cast doubt on
conclusions.

Variables may have the following characteristics:

 Period: When it starts and stops.

 Pattern: Daily, weekly, ad-hoc, etc.
 Detail: Overview through to 'in depth'.
 Latency: Time between measuring dependent and independent variable (some things take time to take effect).

Control

Note that in an experiment there may be many additional variables beyond the manipulated independent variable and
the measured dependent variables. It is critical in experiments that these variables do not vary and hence bias or
otherwise distort the results. There is a struggle between control vs. authenticity in managing this.

Correlation

With perfect correlation, the X-Y graph of points (as a scatter diagram) will give a straight line. Whilst this may
happen in physics, it seldom happens in social research and a probabilistic relationship is the best that can be
determined.

Correlation can be positive (increasing X increases Y), negative (increasing X decreases Y) or non-linear (increasing
X makes Y increase or decrease, depending on the value of X).

Correlation can also be partial, that is across only a range of values X. As all possible values of X can seldom be
tested, most correlations found are at best partial.

Cause

When correlation is determined, a further question is whether varying the independent variable caused the
independent variable to change. This adds complexity and debate to the situation.

Sometimes a third variable is the cause, such as when a correlation between ice-cream sales and drowning is actually
due to the fact that both are caused by warm weather.
Types of Variables in Statistics and Research
Statistics Basics > Types of Variables

A List of Common and Uncommon Types of Variables

While a “variables” in algebra really just means one thing–an unknown value–you’ll come across dozens of types of
variables in statistics. Some are used more than others. For example, you’ll be much more likely to come across
continuous variables than you would dummy variables. Click on a variable name to learn more about that particular
type.

Common Types of Variables

 Categorical variable: variables than can be put into categories. For example, the category “Toothpaste Brands” might
contain the variables Colgate and Aquafresh.
 Confounding variable: extra variables that have a hidden effect on your experimental results.
 Continuous variable: a variable with infinite number of values, like “time” or “weight”.
 Control variable: a factor in an experiment which must be held constant. For example, in an experiment to determine
whether light makes plants grow faster, you would have to control for soil quality and water.
 Dependent variable: the outcome of an experiment. As you change the independent variable, you watch what
happens to the dependent variable.
 Discrete variable: a variable that can only take on a certain number of values. For example, “number of cars in a
parking lot” is discrete because a car park can only hold so many cars.
 Independent variable: a variable that is not affected by anything that you, the researcher, does. Usually plotted on
the x-axis.
 Nominal variable: another name for categorical variable.
 Ordinal variable: similar to a categorical variable, but there is a clear order. For example, income levels of low,
middle, and high could be considered ordinal.

Less Common Types of Variables

 Binary variable: a variable that can only take on two values, usually 0/1. Could also be yes/no, tall/short or some
other two-variable combination.
 Covariate variable: similar to an independent variable, it has an effect on the dependent variable but is usually not
the variable of interest.
 Criterion variable: another name for a dependent variable, when the variable is used in non-experimental situations.
 Interval variable: a measurement between two variables.
 Dichotomous variable: Another name for a binary variable.
 Dummy Variables: used in regression analysis when you want to assign relationships to unconnected categorical
variables. For example, if you had the categories “has dogs” and “owns a car” you might assign a 1 to mean “has
dogs” and 0 to mean “owns a car.”
 Endogenous variable: similar to dependent variables, they are affected by other variables in the system. Used almost
exclusively in econometrics.
 Exogenous variable: variables that affect others in the system.
 Identifier Variables: variables used to uniquely identify situations.
 Indicator variable: another name for a dummy variable.
 Interval variable: another name for a continuous variable.
 Intervening variable: a variable that is used to explain the relationship between variables.
 Manifest variable: a variable that can be directly observed or measured.
 Manipulated variable: another name for independent variable.
 Mediating variable: variables that explain how the relationship between variables happens. For example, it could
explain the difference between the predictor and criterion.
 Moderating variable: changes the strength of an effect between independent and dependent variables. For example,
psychotherapy may reduce stress levels for women more than men, so sex moderates the effect between
psychotherapy and stress levels.
 Outcome variable: similar in meaning to a dependent variable, but used in a non-experimental study.
 Polychotomous variables: variables that can have more than two values.
 Predictor variable: similar in meaning to the independent variable, but used in regression and in non-experimental
studies.
 Treatment variable: another name for independent variable.