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Research Variables

This document discusses different types of variables used in statistical research. There are two main categories of data: quantitative data, which represents amounts, and categorical data, which represents groupings. Quantitative variables can be discrete, representing counts, or continuous, representing measurements. Categorical variables represent groupings rather than actual amounts. The document also defines different types of variables used in experiments, including independent variables that are manipulated, dependent variables that represent outcomes, control variables that are held constant, and others.

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225 views3 pages

Research Variables

This document discusses different types of variables used in statistical research. There are two main categories of data: quantitative data, which represents amounts, and categorical data, which represents groupings. Quantitative variables can be discrete, representing counts, or continuous, representing measurements. Categorical variables represent groupings rather than actual amounts. The document also defines different types of variables used in experiments, including independent variables that are manipulated, dependent variables that represent outcomes, control variables that are held constant, and others.

Uploaded by

justice kimani
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Types of Research Variables

In statistical research, a variable is defined as an attribute of an object of study.


Data is a specific measurement of a variable – it is the value you record in your
data sheet.1 Data is generally divided into two categories:

 Quantitative data represents amounts.


 Categorical data represents groupings.

Quantitative variables

When you collect quantitative data, the numbers you record represent real amounts
that can be added, subtracted, divided, etc. There are two types of quantitative
variables: discrete and continuous.

Discrete variables (integer variables) represents data of counts of individual


items or values example number of students in a class, number of different tree
species in a forest. Continuous variables (ratio variables) represent data of
measurements of continuous or non-finite values example distance, volume, age.

Categorical variables

Categorical variables represent groupings of some kind. They are sometimes


recorded as numbers, but the numbers represent categories rather than actual
amounts of things.

You manipulate the independent variable (the one you think might be the cause)
and then measure the dependent variable (the one you think might be the effect)
to find out what this effect might be.

1
https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/types-of-variables/
You will probably also have variables that you hold constant (control variables)
in order to focus on your experimental treatment.

Independent variables (treatment variables) are defined as variables you


manipulate in order to affect the outcome of an experiment example the amount of
salt added to each plant’s water.

Dependent variables (response variables) are defined as variables that represent


the outcome of the experiment example any measurement of plant health and
growth: in this case, plant height and wilting.

Control variables is defined as variables that are held constant throughout the
experiment example the temperature and light in the room the plants are kept in,
and the volume of water given to each plant.

A confounding variable is defined as a variable that hides the true effect of


another variable in your experiment. This can happen when another variable is
closely related to a variable you are interested in, but you haven’t controlled it in
your experiment example pot size and soil type might affect plant survival as much
or more than salt additions. In an experiment you would control these potential
confounders by holding them constant.

A latent variable is defined as a variable that can’t be directly measured, but that
you represent via a proxy example salt tolerance in plants cannot be measured
directly, but can be inferred from measurements of plant health in our salt-addition
experiment.

A composite variable is defined as a variable that is made by combining multiple


variables in an experiment. These variables are created when you analyze data, not
when you measure it example the three plant health variables could be combined
into a single plant-health score to make it easier to present your findings.

Extraneous variables are those factors in the research environments which may
have an effect on the dependent variable(s) but which are not controlled. If they
cannot be controlled, extraneous variables must at least be taken into consideration
when interpreting results.

Moderator variable 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.

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