SASOFT – Statistical Analysis Software

Lesson 1
INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS

Statistics is the science (and an art), of collecting, analyzing, presenting and

interpreting the data and to arrive at conclusions or make decisions (Gonzales & Nocon,
2015).

Four Basic Elements of Statistics

1. data collection - through interviews, questionnaires, readings, experimentations
2. organization and presentation - through graphs, figures, tables
3. analysis- through statistical tests and hypothesis testing
4. interpretation - explanation of findings and drawing of conclusions

Two Natures of Statistics

1. Descriptive Statistics – deals with methods of recording or tabulating data, with their
visual presentation, with the properties of various kinds of measures, with devices for
computing them, and in fact, with all means of giving a summary description of the data
themselves. In no way does descriptive statistics draw inferences or conclusions about
these sets of data.
Situations where descriptive statistics likely would have been used:
 A new supervisor in charge of 40 clerks would like to know their average salary.
 At least 8% of all fires reported last year in a certain city were caused by children
playing with matches.
 A researcher wishes to describe the performance of the teachers through ratings
given by the students.

2. Inferential Statistics – deals with inferences, conclusions, and/or forecasts about an

entire set of data that may be drawn from the analysis of a subset of this set of data.
Situations where inferential statistics likely would have been used:
 A school projects a 20% downfall in the enrolment in the next 3 years, after
analyzing its enrolment record in the last 5 years.
 Based on the total number of votes for a Pop Idol contestant in the last four rounds
of elimination, he anticipates winning in the forthcoming final round..

Basic Terms in Statistics

 Population – consists of all elements – individuals, items, or objects – whose
characteristics are being studied. The number of elements in a population is called
the population size (denoted by N).
 Sample– is a portion of the population selected for study. The number of elements
in a sample is called the sample size (denoted by n).
 Element or member – of a sample or population is a specific subject or object
(person, firm, item, country, etc.) about which information is collected.
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Lesson 2
NATURE OF VARIABLES

Variable is a term frequently used in research projects. It is pertinent to identify and to

define the variables while designing quantitative research projects. It is therefore critical
for beginners in research to have clarity about this term and the related concepts (Kaur,
2013).

"Variable," to put in layman on. A variable specifically refers to

statement is something that can change characteristics, or attribute of an
and or can have more than one value. ''A individual, thing, or an organization that
variable, as the name implies, is can be measured or observed and that
"something that varies” (Polit & Beck, varies among the people, thing, or
2004). It may be weight, height, anxiety organization being studied (Creswell,
levels, income, body temperature and so 2005).

It is important for a researcher to know certain variables within a study. It will

convert difficult concepts into easily understandable concepts which then can be measured
and analyzed, empirically. There are different kinds of variables but the variables to be
discussed here are the most commonly used variables in conducting educational research.

COMMON KINDS OF VARIABLES IN RESEARCH

1. Independent Variables (IV) - are those that possibly influence, affect, or cause
outcomes. In experimental research design, the independent variables are sometimes
called treatment, manipulated, antecedent or predictor variables because it responsible
for the conditions that act on something else to bring about changes in the dependent
variable. In correlational or comparative research designs, this independent variables
are called explanatory variables because it provides reasons or explanations on the
outcome variables.

2. Dependent Variables (DV) - are the principal focus of research interest which are
presumably affected by one or more independent variables. It is sometimes called
outcome variable because they are the outcomes or results of the influence of the
independent variable.

Example 1: The teacher wants to figure out which reading intervention programs
improve the reading comprehension level of the pupils.

Independent Variable : Type of Reading Intervention Programs (peer-assisted

reading program, computer-assisted reading program, parent-assisted
reading program) - It is the IV because you are actually determining the most
effective reading intervention program.

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Dependent Variable : Reading Comprehension Level (low, moderate, high) - It is

the DV because it's what you measure for each type of reading intervention
program.

Example 2: The marketer would like to determine which advertising modes increase
the sales of the of their company.

Independent Variable : Modes of Advertisement (TV Ads, Internet Ads, Giving of

Free Samples) - It is the IV because you are actually determining the most
effective mode of advertisements.

Dependent Variable : Sales (low, moderate, high) - It is the DV because it's what
you measure for each mode of advertisement.

Example 3: The popcorn vendor wants to figure out which brand of microwave
popcorn pops the most kernels so the popcorn vendor can get the most value for his
money. He tests different brands of popcorn to see which bag pops the most popcorn
kernels.

Independent Variable: Brand of popcorn bag (It's the independent variable

because the popcorn vendor is actually deciding the popcorn bag brands)

Dependent Variable: Number of kernels popped (This is the dependent variable

because it's what the popcorn vendor measures for each popcorn brand)

3. Moderator Variable (MV) - the relationship of the independent variable with the
dependent variable may change under different conditions. That condition is the
moderator variable.

In a given example 1: suppose the students who are exposed to reading

intervention programs are combination of students who belongs to low and high
social economic status (SES). Let's assume that the computer-assisted reading
program improves the reading comprehension level of the students with high SES
while the peer-assisted reading program improves the reading comprehension level
of the students with low SES. The SES serves as the moderator variable because it
provided the condition where the reading intervention programs are effective.

4. Control variable (CV) - is a variable that is not the focus or planned as part of a
research study but cannot be ignored since its existence has certain impact over
Dependent Variable (DV). It is called control variable because it is kept under
"controlled", "monitored" or "constant" to observe whether it has impact on the
relationships between IV and DV.

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In a given example 1: If SES were thought to influence reading comprehension

level, then restricting the study to one SES level would eliminate SES as an extraneous
variable. SES now is a controlled variable.

5. Discrete Variables (DcV) - are variables whose values are a result of counting. It has a
finite number of distinct and separate values. These are variables that are countable in a
finite amount of time.
Examples:
 The number of siblings of a person. (This is discrete variable because a person
isn't going to have 2.34978 siblings; he will have two siblings or three siblings.)
 Number of people who are infected with COVID19
 Number of students present in the class

6. Continuous Variables (CV) - are variables that can assume any numerical value over a
certain interval or is a result of measurement, not counted.
 The height of the tallest basketball player in PBA (height is measured through feet
and inches)
 The length of time it takes a truck driver to go from Angeles City to Manila
 The temperature in Baguio City during Christmas

Knowledge Bits
Variable is a property that takes on different values. Independent
variable is responsible for the conditions that act on something else to
bring about changes in the dependent variable; while the Dependent
variable is the outcome or result of the influence of the independent
variable. Moderator variable is the variable that affects the strength of
the relationship between IV and DV while the Control variable is a
variable that is kept under "controlled", "monitored" or "constant" to
observe whether it has impact on the relationships between IV and DV.
Discrete variable is a variable whose values are a result of counting while
Continuous variable is a variable whose values are a result of
measurement.

Share Your Ideas

Give two (2) examples for each Kind of Variable
See Engagement Activity 1 for Module 1 in G Classroom
Example 1:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Independent Variable: ________________________________________________________
Dependent Variable: __________________________________________________________

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Example 2:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Independent Variable: ________________________________________________________
Dependent Variable: __________________________________________________________

Discrete Variable 1: ___________________________________________________________

2: ___________________________________________________________

Continuous Variable 1: __________________________________________________________

2: _________________________________________________________

Lesson 3
SCALES OF MEASUREMENT OF THE
VARIABLES IN RESEARCH

Scales of measurement of variables in research and statistics are the different

ways in which variables are defined and categorized. The variable has attributes which are
the characteristics or qualities that describe the variable. For example, the variable sex has
male and female attributes while the variable grade has 75, 80, 82... and the like. Scales of
measurement describes the nature of the attributes of variables to determine the kind of
techniques or methods to be used for statistical analysis. The four scales of measurement
are nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio which are categorized into categorical and
continuous variables. Since quantitative data are being analyzed using statistics, by
knowing these scales of measurement, researchers are able to choose the best method for
statistical analysis.

Scales of Measurement

Categorical Continuous

Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

Figure 3. Scales of Measurement in Research

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1. CATEGORICAL VARIABLES are also known as qualitative variables because their

attributes are not numerical. For example, the variable sex has male and female
attributes; the variable perception has strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly
agree attributes. Since statistical analysis deals more on numerical values, the
attributes of these categorical variables are being assigned with numbers for easy
identity. These numbers are called values and only act as labels. The scales of
measurement of categorical variables are nominal or ordinal.

Variables Sex Perception

Attributes Male Female

Strongly
Disagree Agree
Strongly
Disagree Agree

Values 1 2 1 2 3 4

Figure 4. Categorical Variables

1.1 Nominal Scale - the attributes of the variable or observed data are merely classified
into various distinct categories in which no ordering is implied.

Example:

Marital Status (Single / Married / Widow / Separated)

Brand of Cellphone (Samsung / Apple / Huawei / Oppo)
Father's Occupation (Teacher / Driver / Accountant)
Sex (Male / Female)
Employed (yes / no)

1.2 Ordinal Scale - the attributes of the variable are classified into distinct categories
with ordering or ranking is implied. The attributes are arranged in ascending or
descending order. It measures the degree of occurrence of the variable.

Example:

Grade Level (Grade 7 / Grade 8 / Grade 9 / Grade 10)

Educational Qualification (Elementary/ High School / College / Masteral / Doctoral)
Likert Scale Questionnaire like
Perception (Strongly Disagree / Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree)
Customer Satisfaction (Very Satisfied / Satisfied / Unsatisfied / Very Unsatisfied)

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2. CONTINUOUS VARIABLES are also known as quantitative variables because their

attributes are numerical. These numerical attributes are the values by which
continuous variables can be calculated, manipulated and/or controlled. For example,
the variable grade has 80, 85, 75, 90... attributes; while variable temperature has 100,
50, 1000, 500...attributes. The scales of measurement of continuous variables are
interval or ratio.

Variables Grade

Attributes 80 85 75 ....

Figure 5. Continuous Variables

2.1 Interval Scale - the attributes of the variables are put in an ordered scale in which
the difference between the scale is a consistent meaningful quantity. For example,
the scale is made up of equal temperature units, so that the difference between 30
and 40 degrees Celsius is equal to the difference between 40 and 50 degrees
Celsius. The measurement value of 0 (zero) in an interval scale does not mean no
value. There are also values below 0 (zero). For example, the 00 Celsius in a
temperature does not mean there is no temperature.

Example:

Temperature in Celsius (oC)

Temperature in Fahrenheit (oF)
Water Acidity (measured using pH Meter)

2.2 Ratio Scale - the ratio scale of measurement is similar to the interval scale in that it
also represents quantity and has equality of units. However, this scale also has an
absolute zero (no numbers exist below the zero). For example, physical measures
will represent ratio data. If one is measuring the height of a person in centimeters,
there is quantity, equal units, and that measure cannot go below zero centimeters. A
negative height is not possible.

Example:

Age
Grade
Weight of a Person
Family Monthly Income

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Ratio Scale - Ordinal Scale. Sometimes, the values of the ratio variable are grouped
or bracketed to easily describe the data. For example, the values of variable age such
as (15, 40, 25, 32, 20, 36...) are being bracketed into 15 - 20 years old, 21 - 25 years
old, 26 - 30 years old, and so on. In this case, the age variable falls into ordinal scale.

Variable : Age
Values : Actual age of the respondents (15, 40, 25, 32, 20, 36...)
Scale of Measurement : Ratio Scale

Variable : Age
Values : Age of the respondents in bracket (15 - 20 years old, 21 - 25 years old,
26 - 30 years old, and so on)
Scale of Measurement : Ordinal Scale

Knowledge Bits

Ratio Scale - differences between measurements, true zero exists.

Interval Scale - differences between measurements but no true zero.

Ordinal Scale - ordered categories (order, ranking, or scaling).

Nominal Scale - categories (no ordering or direction).

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Share Your Ideas

Give two (2) examples for each Scale of Measurement

Nominal Scale
Variable 1: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________
Variable 2: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________

Ordinal Scale
Variable 1: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________
Variable 2: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________

Interval Scale
Variable 1: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________
Variable 2: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________

Ratio Scale
Variable 1: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________
Variable 2: ________________________________________________________
Values: ____________________________________________________________

See Engagement Activity 1 for Module 1 in G Classroom

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