Understanding types of variables

Date published November 21, 2019 by Rebecca Bevans. Date updated: May 20, 2020

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

which variables to measure is central to good experimental design.

Example

If you want to test whether some plant species are more salt-tolerant than others,
some key variables you might measure include the amount of salt you add to the
water, the species of plants being studied, and variables related to plant health like
growth and wilting.

You need to know which types of variables you are working with in order to choose
appropriate statistical tests and interpret the results of your study.

You can usually identify the type of variable by asking two questions:

1. What type of data does the variable contain?

2. What part of the experiment does the variable represent?

 Table of contents

1. Types of data: Quantitative vs categorical variables

2. Parts of the experiment: Independent vs dependent variables
3. Other common types of variables
4. Frequently asked questions about variables

Types of data: Quantitative vs categorical variables

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

Quantitative data represents amounts.

Categorical data represents groupings.

A variable that contains quantitative data is a quantitative variable; a variable that

contains categorical data is a categorical variable. Each of these types of variable can be
broken down into further types.

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 vs continuous variables

Discrete variables (aka integer variables)

What does the data represent?: Counts of individual items or values.

Examples:
Number of students in a class
Number of different tree species in a forest

Continuous variables (aka ratio variables)

What does the data represent?: Measurements of continuous or non-finite values.

Examples:
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.

There are three types of categorical variables: binary, nominal, and ordinal variables.
Binary vs nominal vs ordinal variables

Binary variables (aka dichotomous variables)

What does the data represent?: Yes/no outcomes.

Examples:
Heads/tails in a coin flip
Win/lose in a football game

Nominal variables

What does the data represent?: Groups with no rank or order between them.

Examples:
Species names
Colors
Brands

Ordinal variables

What does the data represent?: Groups that are ranked in a specific order.

Examples:
Finishing place in a race
Rating scale responses in a survey*

*Note that sometimes a variable can work as more than one type! An ordinal variable can
also be used as a quantitative variable if the scale is numeric and doesn’t need to be kept
as discrete integers. For example, star ratings on product reviews are ordinal (1 to 5 stars),
but the average star rating is quantitative.

Example data sheet

To keep track of your salt-tolerance experiment, you make a data sheet where you record
information about the variables in the experiment, like salt addition and plant health.

To gather information about plant responses over time, you can fill out the same data
sheet every few days until the end of the experiment. This example sheet is color-coded
according to the type of variable: nominal, continuous, ordinal, and binary.
Parts of the experiment: Independent vs dependent
variables
Experiments are usually designed to find out what effect one variable has on another – in
our example, the effect of salt addition on plant growth.

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.

You will probably also have variables that you hold constant (control variables) in order to
focus on your experimental treatment.

Independent vs dependent vs control variables

Independent variables (aka treatment variables)

Definition: Variables you manipulate in order to affect the outcome of an experiment.

Example (salt tolerance experiment): The amount of salt added to each plant’s water.

Dependent variables (aka response variables)

Definition: Variables that represent the outcome of the experiment.

Example (salt tolerance experiment): Any measurement of plant health and growth: in this case,
plant height and wilting.
 Control variables

Definition: Variables that are held constant throughout the experiment.

Example (salt tolerance experiment): The temperature and light in the room the plants are kept
in, and the volume of water given to each plant.

Example data sheet

In this experiment, we have one independent and three dependent variables.

The other variables in the sheet can’t be classified as independent or dependent, but they
do contain data that you will need in order to interpret your dependent and independent
variables.

What about correlational research?

When you do correlational research, the terms “dependent” and “independent” don’t
apply, because you are not trying to establish a cause and effect relationship.

However, there might be cases where one variable clearly precedes the other (for example,
rainfall leads to mud, rather than the other way around). In these cases you may call the
preceding variable (i.e. the rainfall) the predictor variable and the following variable (i.e.
the mud) the outcome variable.

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Other common types of variables

Once you have defined your independent and dependent variables and determined
whether they are categorical or quantitative, you will be able to choose the correct
statistical test.

But there are many other ways of describing variables that help with interpreting your
results. Some useful types of variable are listed below.

Confounding variables

Definition: 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 (salt tolerance experiment): 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.
 Latent variables

Definition: A variable that can’t be directly measured, but that you represent via a proxy.

Example (salt tolerance experiment): Salt tolerance in plants cannot be measured directly, but
can be inferred from measurements of plant health in our salt-addition experiment.

Composite variables

Definition: 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 (salt tolerance experiment): The three plant health variables could be combined into a
single plant-health score to make it easier to present your findings.

Frequently asked questions about variables

What are independent and dependent variables? 

What is a confounding variable? 

What is the difference between quantitative and categorical variables? 

What is the difference between discrete and continuous variables? 

Is this article helpful?

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 Rebecca Bevans
Rebecca is working on her PhD in soil ecology and spends her free time writing. She's very
happy to be able to nerd out about statistics with all of you.

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New
6 comments

John · March 27, 2020 at 8:30 AM

Hi, what is the difference between independent variable and moderating variable?

Can we put in this way, Plant species as independent and Salt Added as moderating
variable? Since different plant species gives out different outcome in the
dependent variable section. Is it appropriate to say that plant species is an
independent variable too?

Thank you.

Reply

John · March 27, 2020 at 9:16 AM

Im sorry, i meant moderating variable as plant species and independent

variables as Salt added.

Is it appropriate to put it this way?

Reply

Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team) · March 30, 2020 at 6:44 PM

Hi John,

Yes, you're correct that in this example, plant species would be a

moderating variable.

In an experiment, the independent variable is the one that you directly

manipulate (in this case, the amount of salt added). A moderating variable
is one that you measure because it might influence how the independent
variable acts on the dependent variable, but which you do not directly
manipulate (in this case, plant species). You can read more in our article
about moderating variables.
 Hope that helps!

Reply

Kokila Madhubhashini · March 8, 2020 at 3:07 PM

There are very useful details and easy to understand and well organized.

I would like to know more about moderate variable and how is it affected for the
data analysis.

Reply

Tom · February 22, 2020 at 10:54 PM

Good

Reply

Phil · January 24, 2020 at 11:01 AM

Loved it! Much thanks.

Reply

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