CONCEPCION, Denise Nicole GUERRA, Alliah Czarielle ROSAS, Mary Rose VELEZ, Vida Valerie

From

the root word: vary

To change, to become different To shed a past state and take on another at present. Specific values carried by variables. One variable can have several attributes.

Attributes:

 In

scientific experimentation, a variable refers to a factor available for manipulation and measurement.

Independent variables

Variables which are manipulated. Treatment, cause Influence other variables to change Must have at least 2 levels (variants) Manipulated variable, explanatory variable, individual-difference variable 2 kinds! (next slide)

Dependent variables
Variables being manipulated upon Receive treatment and respond to it Effect, outcome Responding variable

 True

Independent Variables variables

Subject

Not manipulated by the researcher Inherent within subject Possible relation to another subject variable

 Presence

vs. Absence Type of variable Amount of Variable Experimental Manipulation

One group of research participants receives treatment. Another does not. Comparison

Does group receiving treatment condition differ from group that does not? (Christensen, 1997)

Ex. The effect of chocolate on a persons euphoric state

One group is made to eat chocolate for a given number of days, in controlled amounts Another group does not eat any chocolate Researchers tally and compare the difference between the two groups euphoric states

 Vary

the type of variable under investigation. (Christensen, 1997)

Ex. Researchers want to know what the cause of depression is in overweight people from a rural village who eat primarily rice or corn.
Does it correlate more strongly to their weight or to their diet? Two possible independent variables: Weight, Diet Subjects in a healthy mental state might be divided into groups of borderline overweight to severely overweight, and a control group of healthy-weight people selected The groups may then be further divided into groups that will be fed rice, and groups that will be fed corn. The results will then be compared and a conclusion will be drawn

Rice
Severely overweight people Borderline overweight people Normal-weight people Scores for depression after period of eating said food Scores for depression after period of eating said food Scores for depression after period of eating said food

Corn
Scores for depression after period of eating said food Scores for depression after period of eating said food Scores for depression after period of eating said food

Of course this is just a sample experiment; other designs might be more effective and it is not for our group to cover!

 Administer

different amounts of variable to each of several groups. (Christensen, 1997) Ex. Does increased amounts of caffeine improve ability to focus on tasks?

One group may be limited to 2 cups of coffee per day. Another group is made to drink 5 cups. Still another group may be permitted to drink up to 8 cups.

 Experimenter

administers one specific controlled amount to a group of individuals and a different specific controlled amount to a group of individuals. (Christensen, 1997) Ex. The effect of sleep on motor coordination

Group 1: 4 hours of sleep/day in 1 week Group 2: 8 hours of sleep/day in 1 week*

*same starting time, might be conducted in the same place

 Variable:

made to vary

Changes are observed and quantified Become the basis for the derivation of a conclusion

Constant:

unchanging

To preserve consistency throughout the experiment

 Intervening

variables

Not observed directly; abstract concepts Inferrable from the relationship between independent and dependent variable Explains relationship between the independent and dependent variable e.g. learning, expectancy, cognitive structure, group cohesiveness, intelligence, stages of devt, attitudes

 Moderator

(Moderating) Variable

Factor measured, manipulated or selected by experimenter to discover whether it modifies the relationship of the IV to the observed phenomenon Enhance or influence the independent variable Ex. Experiment involving 2 methods of teaching mathematics Students with strong reading skills do better in 1 method, students with low reading skills do better in another Reading = Moderating variable

 Controlled

variables

Variables which are held constant throughout the experiment Consistency purposes Failure to isolate confounding internal validity is compromised

Extraneous

variables

Variables with no effect on the outcome of the experiment

 Experimental

group

Subjects which receive experimental treatment Manipulated by researcher. (Johnson and Solso, 1984)

Control

group

Subjects given same treatment as experimental group, but not manipulated by researcher. (Johnson and Solso, 1984) Held constant in research study by observing only one of its levels. (Shardson, 1988) Used to neutralize the effects of variables not of central focus to study, but possibly affecting observed behavior.

 Two

uses

Experimenter makes things happen when he/she wants them to happen (Johnson and Solso, 1984) Arrangement of conditions so that the experimenter can attribute result of experiment to independent variable and not any other variable. (Johnson and Solso, 1984)

 Means

for ruling out threats to validity. Provides a standard against which to compare the effect of a particular IV. (McBurney)

 No!

Control without control group, wherein two experimental groups are given differing treatment and the effects subsequently compared:
Group 1 2 Treatment A1 A2

 Do

students learn better with audio or video?

Group of students is divided. Group 1 is taught using audio alone. Group 2 receives instruction via video.
Group Audio Video Treatment A1 A2

 No!

Experiment may instead be given a control condition, wherein different subjects each experience a condition and thereby serves as its own control
(All Subjects) Condition Experimental Condition Control Condition Treatment Present Absent

 The

shampoo test

A group of participants is asked to test a type of conditioner with one type of shampoo. Effects are observed and rated. The same group is asked to use only shampoo. Effects are observed and rated. Comparison between effects.
(All Subjects) Condition With conditioner Treatment Present

Shampoo only

Absent

1.

Laboratory Setting
Scientific laboratory: place set up to allow the mot appropriate control over variables of interest in the research Has all the items/equipment required MAXIMUM CONTROL!

NEED NOT BE STERILE!

2.

Research setting as preparation

Device used to study learning in small animals.

Unlike other implements such as mazes, it ensures that only response time is being studied and not number of turns or speed, which are possible confounding variables.

Skinner Box (B.F. Skinner)

3.

Instrumenting response
Improving measurement of behavior under study Setting up standardized benchmarks for comparison, easy reference Use of measuring devices as instruments for reducing behavior to numbers or to other forms convenient to data analysis. e.g. Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale

branch of measurement that involves the construction of an instrument that associates qualitative constructs with quantitative metric units

 Observing

and recording of observations collected as part of a research effort (Nation, 1997) Assignment of numbers to things Quantifying

levels:
Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

Depending

on suitability, none is better than

another

 Basic

scale of measurement Numbers or symbols representing differences between objects or persons Process of grouping into classes No qualitative features

 Uses

numbers to order objects from a continuum of high to low Provides information about rank Distances between values may be unequal

 Assigns

a number to an object or person such that the number of units of measurement is equal to the amount of attribute possessed (to scale!) Identifiable levels No absolute zero point as consistent reference. Reflected values on scale not proportional to characteristics Includes all measurements of ordinal and interval levels.

 Intervals

between numbers are equal, but zero point is arbitrary e.g. Temperature

 Ex.

32oF The interval between 32oF and 33oF is the same as the interval between 85oF and 86oF 0oF does NOT imply absence of temperature! 0oF and 0oC are not equal.

 Most

sophisticated form of measurement Zero point present!

Indicates absence of attribute measured

Proportional

relationships represent actual amounts of the characteristic being measured.

Type of Scale Non-interval

Measurement Scale Nominal

Characteristics of Scale Names or designations of discrete units/categories. Values such as more or less, but w/o specifying size of intervals

Statistical Possibilities 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Mode Percentage Chi-square Mode Percentage Chi-square Median Percentile rank Rank correlation Mean Standard deviation T-Test F-Test Product-Moment Correlation

Non-interval

Ordinal

Interval

Interval

Equal intervals or degree of difference, zero point arbitrary

Interval

Ratio

Equal intervals, absolute zero point

1. Geometric mean 2. Harmonic mean 3. Percent variation

 Maleske,

T.M. (1995). Foundations fro Gathering and Interpreting Behavioral Data: An Introduction to Statistics. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. Shardson, R.J. (1988). Design of Research in the Behavioral Sciences. In Statistical Reasoning for the Behavioral Sciences (pp. 15-23). Massachussets: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. Blalock, H.M. Jr. (1981). Social Statistics. McGraw Hill, Inc.

 Johnson,

H.H., Solso, R.L. (1984). An Introduction to Experimental Design in Psychology: A Case Approach. New York, N.Y. Harper and Row Publications, Inc. Kontowitz, B.H., Roediger, R.L., Elmes, D.G. (1988). Experimental Psychology. St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co. Christensen, L.B. (1997). The Independent Variable. In Experimental Methodology (pp. 195-199). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

 Johnson,

H.H., Solso, R.L. (1984). An Introduction to Experimental Design in Psychology: A Case Approach. New York, N.Y. Harper and Row Publications, Inc. Kontowitz, B.H., Roediger, R.L., Elmes, D.G. (1988). Experimental Psychology. St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Co. Christensen, L.B. (1997). The Independent Variable. In Experimental Methodology (pp. 195-199). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

 Nation,

J.R. (1997). Research Methods. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall, Inc. McBurney (1998). Research Methods.

 Variables

in Your Science Fair Project. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_variables.shtml Trochim, William M.K. (2006) Research Methods Knowledge Base. Article on Variables Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/v ariable.php http://www.experimentresources.com/research-variables.html