Educational

Technology
Unit

ETUlay
Online Tutorial
 Educational
Technology
Unit

ETUlay Online Tutorial

Practical Research 2
Q3 Week 3:
The Nature of Variables
 Objective
Differentiates kinds of variables
and their uses (CS_RS12-Ia-c-3)
Kinds of Variables and Their Uses
 The Nature of Variables and Data
A variable is made up of the root or
base word “vary” which means to
undergo changes or to differ from.

Bernard (1994) defines a variable

as something that can take more
than one value, and values can
be words or numbers.
The Nature of Variables and Data

Income Education

Sex Marital
status

Examples
Age of Occupation
Variables
 The Nature of Variables and Data
A variable is a characteristic or
attribute of interest in the research
study that can take on different
values and is not constant.

Quantitative variables are those

variables that are measured in
terms of numbers.
The Nature of Variables and Data

Size Time

Height Intelligence

Examples
Weight of performance
Variables
The Nature of Variables and Data
An attribute is a specific value
on a variable.

Example:
Gender – Male and Female
Marital Status – Single, Married,
Widow
The Nature of Variables and Data
The variable agreement might be
defined as having 5 attributes.

Example:
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
 Traits of Variables
• This include all possible
answerable responses
Exhaustive • Ex. Male, female, male
transgender, female
transgender, etc.

• No responses should be able

Mutually to have two attributes
simultaneously
exclusive • Ex. Tossing a coin – head or
tail
The Nature of Variables and Data
Nominal Variables represent
categories that cannot be
ordered in any particular way.

Examples:
Biological sex – male and female
Political affiliation
Basketball fan affiliation
The Nature of Variables and Data
Ordinal Variables represent
categories that can be ordered
from greatest to smallest

Examples:
Education level – freshman,
sophomore, Grade 11, Grade 12
Income Brackets
The Nature of Variables and Data
Interval Variables have values
that lie along an evenly dispersed
range of numbers
Examples:
Temperature (difference between 70
degree and 80 degree will be same as the
difference between 30 degree and 40
degree. So the interval is of 10 degree in
both the categories)
A Person’s net worth
The Nature of Variables and Data
Ratio Variables have values that
lie along an evenly dispersed
range of numbers when there is
an absolute zero.
Examples:
Most scores stemming from
response to survey items are ratio-
level because they typically
cannot go below zero.
Independent and Dependent Variables
The independent variable is the
condition or treatment applied to
the experimental group that is
under the control, direction or
manipulation of the researcher.

The independent variable stands

alone and is not changed by the
other variables you are trying to
measure.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Examples of independent variable:
• Age
• Gender
• What people eat
• How much time they spend using
gadgets
• How much time youngsters spend
on computer games
 Independent and Dependent Variables
The dependent variable is the variable that changes
because of another variable. It is the effect, response
or the outcome variable.

Ex.: to determine the positive effects of one modern

grammar theory called Systemic Functional Grammar
(SFG) on Intercultural Competence (IC), these can be
applied in many ways as collaborative oral, or written
activity. In this case, the SFG serves as the
independent variable and the IC as the dependent
variable.
 Independent and Dependent Variables
Researches Independent Variable Dependent Variable
A researcher would like to
know a description of how description of how the parents
K to 12 program implementation
parents feel about the K to feel / feeling of parents
12 program implementation

A farmer would like to know

the effect of the different
amounts of fertilizer growth of plants
amounts of fertilizer on the
growth of plants

A study on the relationship

between a student’s math
student’s math aptitude test grade in General Mathematics
aptitude test and grade in
General Mathematics
 Other Kinds of Variables

Extraneous Variables are variables

that may affect research outcomes
but have not been adequately
considered in the study. They may
be confounding or intervening
variables
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 from https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 Other Kinds of Variables
Confounding Variables are extraneous variables
that are not recognized until the study is in
process, or are recognized before the study is
initiated but cannot be controlled.
Researchers comment on the influence of
confounding variables after the study has been
completed, because these may have operated
to explain the relationship between the
independent and dependent variable, but they
were not or could not be easily assessed.
 Other Kinds of Variables

Intervening or Mediating Variables

“stand between” the independent
and dependent variables, and they
show the effects of the
independent variable on the
dependent variable.
 Other Kinds of Variables
Example of Intervening or Mediating Variables

A girl's knowledge and practices helps in

maintaining menstrual hygiene. Here,
motivation, mother and friends, mass media, are
some intervening variables which may also help
in maintaining menstrual hygiene. Thus, if these
two factors are not controlled it would be
impossible to know what the underlying cause
really is.
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 from https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 Other Kinds of Variables
Covariate variables are characteristics
(excluding the actual treatment) of the
participants in an experiment. If you collect data
on characteristics before you run an experiment,
you could use that data to see how your
treatment affects different groups or populations.
Or, you could use that data to control for the
influence of any covariate. Covariates are
always observed/measured, a control and a
continuous variable
Stephanie Glen. "Covariate Definition in Statistics" From StatisticsHowTo.com: Elementary Statistics for the rest of us! https://www.statisticshowto.com/covariate/
 Other Kinds of Variables
Example of Covariate variables:

An experiment to see how corn plants

tolerate drought. Level of drought is the
actual “treatment”, but it isn’t the only factor
that affects how plants perform: size is a
known factor that affects tolerance levels, so
you would run plant size as a covariate.
 Other Kinds of Variables
Control Variables are special types of independent
variables that are measured in a study because they
potentially influence the dependent variable.

Researchers use statistical procedures (e.g. analysis of

covariance) to control these variables.

They may be demographic or personal variables that

need to be “controlled” so that the true influence of
the independent variable on the dependent can be
determined.
 Other Kinds of Variables
Continuous variable can assume an infinite
number of values between two points. It would
(literally) take forever to count.

Example:
Weight: between 1 and 2 Kg, the number of
values is limitless: 1.005, 1.7, 1.33333, and so on.
Age: 25 years, 10 months, 2 days, 5 hours, 4
seconds, 4 milliseconds, 8 nanoseconds, 99
picosends…and so on.
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 from https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 Other Kinds of Variables
Discrete variable is one that has a
finite number of values between
any two points, representing
discrete quantities.
Example:
•A person’s age in years
•A baby’s age in months
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 Other Kinds of Variables
Categorical variables are variables
that take on only a handful of
discrete non quantitative values
When categorical variables take on
only two values, they are sometimes
referred to as dichotomous
variables.
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 from https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-
content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 Other Kinds of Variables
VARIABLES EXAMPLES
Gender: Male and female
Type of property: Commercial and
residential
Dichotomous
Education: Literate and illiterate
Variables
Pregnant and non pregnant
Alive and dead
HIV positive and HIV negative
Trichotomous Residence: Urban, semi urban and rural
Variables Religion: Hindu, Muslim, and Christianity.
Multiple Variables Blood groups: A, B, AB and O
Kaur, S.P. (2013 Oct-Dec). Variables in Research. IJRMMS. Vol 3. No. 4 from https://sites.usp.br/rnp/wp-content/uploads/sites/830/2020/10/complemento-aula-1.pdf
 What’s More: Learning Task 2
Directions: Identify the independent variable/s and
dependent variables of the following research
studies.
Independent Dependent
Research
Variable/s Variable/s
A researcher would Cognitively- academic
like to know if Focused Instruction performance of
Cognitively- Focused low-achieving
Instruction improves students
the academic
performance of low-
achieving students
 What’s More: Learning Task 2
Directions: Identify the independent variable/s and
dependent variables of the following research
studies.
Independent Dependent
Research
Variable/s Variable/s
Studying about the alcohol abuse or academic
relation between dependence performance of
alcohol abuse or first-year college
dependence on students
academic
performance of first-
year college students
 What’s More: Learning Task 2
Directions: Identify the independent variable/s and
dependent variables of the following research
studies.
Independent Dependent
Research
Variable/s Variable/s
The Impact of Enquiry-Based Academic
Enquiry-Based Learning Performance
Learning on and Student
Academic Engagement
Performance and
Student Engagement
 What’s More: Learning Task 2
Directions: Identify the independent variable/s and
dependent variables of the following research
studies.
Independent Dependent
Research Variable/s Variable/s
Effects of Information Student Writing
Information Literacy Skills and Course
Literacy Skills on Performance
Student Writing
and Course
Performance
 What’s More: Learning Task 2
Directions: Identify the independent variable/s and
dependent variables of the following research
studies.
Independent Dependent
Research Variable/s Variable/s
Academic homework Academic
performance and completion performance
satisfaction with among and
homework college satisfaction
completion among students
college students