VARIABLES, KINDS

OF VARIABLES
AND THEIR USES
 VARIABLE
• The root word of the word variable is
“vary” or simply “can change”
• are among the fundamental concepts
of research, alongside with
measurement, validity, reliability,
cause and effect and theory
• Something that can take more than
one value, and values can be words
or numbers (Bernard, 1994)
 VARIABLE
• The most common variables in social research
are age, sex, gender, education, income,
marital status and occupation.
• All social research is based on defining variables,
looking for associations among them, and trying
to understand whether one variable causes
another
• Still other experts define a variable as any entity
that can take on different values. Simply stated,
anything that can vary can be considered a
variable. An attribute, on the other hand, is a
specific value on a variable. For instance, the
variable gender has two attributes: male and
female.
 VARIABLE
• Or the variable agreement might be defined as having
5 attributes:
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
 Variables are units of analysis, some of which include
gender, age, socio-economic status, attitudes or
behaviors such as bullying, racial discrimination, among
others
 refers to a characteristic, or attribute of an individual or
an organization that can be measured or observed and
that varies among the people or organization being
studied (Creswell, 2002)
THE NATURE OF
VARIABLES AND
DATA
Quantitative
researchers try to
count human
behaviors, that is they
attempt to count
multiple variables at
the same time.
FOUR TYPES OF
VARIABLES
 1. Nominal variables
• Represent categories that
cannot be ordered in any
particular way. Examples:
biological sex (e.g. males vs.
females), political affiliation,
basketball fan affiliation,
etc.
 2. Ordinal variables
• Represent categories that
can be ordered from
greatest to smallest.
Examples: education level
(e.g. freshman, sophomore,
Grade XI, Grade XII),
income brackets, etc.
 3. Interval variables
• Have values that lie along
an evenly dispersed range
of numbers. Examples:
temperature, a person’s net
worth (how much money
you have when you
subtract your debt from
your assets) etc.
 4. Ratio variables
• Have values that lie along an evenly
dispersed range of numbers when
there is an absolute zero, as
opposed to net worth, which can
have a negative debt-to-income
ratio-level variable. That is, you
cannot have income or some
positive amount of income. Most
scores stemming from response to
survey items are ratio-level values
because they typically cannot go
below zero.
KINDS OF
VARIABLES
 1. Independent variables
• Those that probably cause,
influence, or affect
outcomes. They are
invariably called treatment,
manipulated, antecedent
or predictor variables.
 Independent variables
• Stand alone and they are not
changed by the other variables
you are trying to measure.
Examples: age, gender, what
people eat, how much time they
spend using gadgets, how much
television they watch or how much
time youngsters spend on
computer games.
2. Dependent variables
• Those that depend on the
independent variables; they
are the outcomes or results
of the influence of the
independent variable.
 Dependent variables
• Are what researchers are interested in.
They depend on other factors
Example: a test score could be a
dependent variable, because it could
change depending on several factors
such as how much you studied, how
much sleep you got the night before you
took the test, or even how hungry you
were when you took it. In sum, the
changes in the dependent variables are
what the researcher is trying to measure
with varied scientific techniques
 3. Intervening or
mediating variables
• “stand between” the
independent and
dependent variables, and
they show the effects of the
independent variable on
the dependent variable.
 4. Control variables
• 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.
 5. Confounding variables
• Those that are not actually measured or
observed in a study.
• Researchers comment on the influence
of confounding variables after the study
has been completed, because these
variables may have operated to explain
the relationship between the
independent variable and dependent
variable, but they were not or could not
be easily assessed.
 Patrick Regoniel (2012) advances
these examples of variables:
Phenomenon A: Climate Change
Examples of variables related to
climate change:
1. Sea level
2. Temperature
3. The amount of carbon dioxide
4. The amount of rainfall
Temperature (independent
variable) may influence sea
level (dependent variable).
Increased temperature will
cause expansion of water in
the sea. Thus, sea level rise on
a global scale may occur.
Phenomenon B: Crime and violence on
streets
Examples of variables related to crime
and violence in streets:
1. Number of robberies
2. Number of attempted murders
3. Number of prisoners
4. Number of crime victims
5. Number of law enforcers
6. Number of convictions
7. Number of carnapping incidents
Crime and violence on
streets, the independent
variable may be the
number of law enforcers
and dependent variable
is the number of
robberies.
Now, figure out the
independent and
dependent
variables in
Phenomenon C.
Phenomenon C: Poor performance of students in
college entrance exams
Examples of variables related to poor academic
performance:
1. Entrance exam score
2. Number of hours devoted to studying
3. Student-teacher ratio
4. Number of students in the class
5. Educational attainment
6. Teaching style
7. The distance of school from home
8. Number of hours devoted by parents in
providing tutorial support
All of the above examples of
variables can be counted or
measured using a scale. The
expected values derived from these
variables will, therefore, be in terms
of numbers, amount, category or
type. Since quantified variables
allow statistical analysis, variables
correlations or difference can be
determined.
Usually, when you are looking for some
kind of relationship between variables, you
are trying to see if the independent
variable causes some kind of change in
the other variables, or dependent
variables.
For example: If you are studying the
impact of a new enrolment procedure on
the school personnel and the students, the
new enrolment procedure is the
independent variable and the impact of a
new enrolment procedure is the
dependent variable.
The following is one of the best ways to
distinguish an independent variable from a
dependent variable.
Independent variable causes a change
in dependent variable and it isn’t
possible that dependent variable could
cause a change in independent
variable.
Time Spent Studying causes a change
but it isn’t possible that Test Score could
cause a change in Time Spent Studying.
TRAITS OF
VARIABLES
Exhaustive – this should
include all possible
answerable responses.
Mutually exclusive – no
respondent should be able
to have two attributes
simultaneously.
Exercise 1
Directions: Do as directed.
1. Distinguish independent from
dependent variables in a
complete sentence.
2. Explain the term “control
variable” in your own words in
a complete sentence.
3. Explain “confounding
variable” in your own words in
a complete sentence.
4. Which of the two is the
independent variable?
A. Students undergo blended
learning in an English subject.
B. Students who undergo
blended learning have
improved grades in an English
subject.
Explain your answer in a complete
sentence.
5. Which of the two is the
dependent variable?
A. A considerable number of
consumers use the twin pack in
a 3 in 1 coffee product.
B. A leading coffee manufacturer
introduces twin pack in a 3 in 1
coffee product.
Explain your answer in a complete
sentence.
Exercise 2
Directions: Figure out the independent and dependent
variables in the following phenomena:
Explain your answer in complete sentences.
Phenomenon 1: Fish Kill
1. Dissolved oxygen
2. Water salinity
3. Temperature
4. Age of fish
5. Presence or absence of heavy metal
6. Presence or absence of parasites
7. Stocking density
Explanation:
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Phenomenon 2: Poor Crop Growth
1. The amount of nitrogen in the soil
2. The amount of phosphorus in the soil
3. The amount of rainfall
4. The amount of potassium in the ground
5. Frequency of weeding
6. temperature

Explanation:
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