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The document outlines the research process, detailing steps such as identifying the problem, conducting literature reviews, formulating hypotheses, and preparing reports. It explains the importance of variables in research, categorizing them into dependent, independent, and extraneous types, along with qualitative and quantitative classifications. The document emphasizes the need for careful design to ensure that research findings are valid and not influenced by extraneous factors.

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Chaima Amina Aroussi
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11 views2 pages

rm_lctre2

The document outlines the research process, detailing steps such as identifying the problem, conducting literature reviews, formulating hypotheses, and preparing reports. It explains the importance of variables in research, categorizing them into dependent, independent, and extraneous types, along with qualitative and quantitative classifications. The document emphasizes the need for careful design to ensure that research findings are valid and not influenced by extraneous factors.

Uploaded by

Chaima Amina Aroussi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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University of Batna 2- Mostafa Benboulaid

Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages


Department of English Language and literature
Master I: LC
Course: Research Methodology
Teacher: Dr. M. Messerhi
Email: [email protected]

The research process: Identifying variables and formulation of hypothesis


Brief overview of the research process: Research involves a series of steps that systematically
investigate a problem. The sequence of steps involved in the research process includes the following:
1. Identifying and Defining the Problem
2. Extensive Literature review
3. Statement of Research Objectives
4. Identifying, Manipulating, and Controlling Variables
5. Formulation of Hypothesis
6. Selecting the Research Method
7. Selecting the Sampling Procedure
8. Selecting the data collection tool
9. Data analysis and interpretation
10. Drawing conclusions
11. Preparing and Presenting the Research Report, thesis or Publication
The above steps provide a broad outline applicable to any research project. However, the number and
sequence of activities can vary as per the demand of an individual research project. The research process
can be divided into three phases:
1. Planning or preparation. The planning phase is related to a problem or need identification and
leads to selection of the target population.
2. Execution, Data collection and evaluation can be described as the execution phase of the research
process
3. Report preparation: presenting the research report can be considered as the last phase.

Identifying variables and formulation of hypothesis


Variables and their Types
Definition of a variable
Anything that can vary is a variable. For research purpose, a variable can be defined as a character,
condition, or concept that can take different values, and hence measurable.
It is any feature or aspect of an event, function or process that, by its presence and nature, affects some
other event or process, which is being studied.
Variables can also be defined as those characteristics that are manipulated, controlled, and observed by
the researcher
For example, in health and social science research, race, gender, age, agreement, attitude, programme,
treatment, medicines, diets, blood pressure, body weight, etc. are examples of variables. Variables are
important in both experimental and non-experimental research.

.
Types of variables
Often, variables are classified as dependent, independent, and extraneous variables based on the causal
relationships between them.
1. Dependent Variable: The variable about which the prediction is made on the basis of the
experiment is called as Dependent Variable. In other words, the dependent variable is the
characteristic or condition that changes as the experimenter changes the independent variables.
2. Independent Variable: The independent variable is the condition or characteristic that is
manipulated or selected by the experimenter in order to find out its relationship to some observed
phenomena.
Independent and dependent variables are important when exploring cause and effect relationships. In
experimental research, the independent variable, also known as experimental variable or predictor variable
is the one manipulated by the investigator, whereas the dependent variable or outcome variable is measured
for reaction due to the independent variable, which may be a treatment, programme, or cause. In an
experiment, an independent variable would be the apparent cause and the dependent variable the supposed
effect.
Qualitative and Quantitative Variables
When we consider the nature of variables, we may sometimes come across attributes that cannot be
measured. For example, qualitative characters such as religion, colour, and gender cannot be measured.
These are the qualitative variables, also known as categorical variables. At the same time, quantitative
variables are measurable, for example, height, weight, and length. However, certain qualitative variables
can act as quantitative variables too.
For the purpose of measurements, qualitative variables are categorized as nominal and ordinal variables,
while quantitative variables are classified as continuous and discrete variables.
Nominal and Ordinal Variables
A nominal variable may have one, two, or more sub-categories depending upon the extent of variation;
for example, the variable ‘educational status’ can have the subcategories as: non-literate, literate,
matriculate, graduate, postgraduate, and doctorate;
and the variable ‘gender’ can have males and females as subcategories.
On the other hand, ordinal variables have no absolute values, but these can be arranged in either
ascending or descending order according to the magnitude of variations. For example, the variable
‘agreement’ can have five subcategories as 1- strongly disagree, 2-disagree, 3-neutral, 4-agree, and 5-
strongly agree.

3. Intervening Variable:
There are a number of abstract variables in educational/social experiments, which intervene the effect of
experimental or criterion variable. For controlling intervening variable appropriate research design should
be used. Intervening variables are hard if not impossible, to observe because they usually have to do with
an individual’s feelings like boredom, stress, fatigue, excitement etc
4. Extraneous Variable:
Independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the dependent
variable are termed as extraneous variables. Suppose the researcher wants to test the hypothesis that there
is a relationship between children’s gain in social studies achievement and their self-concept. Here self-
concept is independent variable and achievement in social study is dependent variable. Intelligence may
as well affect the social studies achievement; but since it is not related to the purpose of the study
undertaken by the researcher, it will be termed as extraneous variable. Whatever effect is noticed on
dependent variable as a result of extraneous variable(s) is technically described as an ‘experimental error.’
A study must always be so designed that the effect upon the dependent variable is attributed entirely to
the independent variables and not to some extraneous variable(s)

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