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Variable

The document explains the concept of variables in research, detailing types such as independent, dependent, moderator, control, and intervening variables. It provides examples from various disciplines to illustrate how these variables interact in experiments, emphasizing the importance of understanding their relationships. Additionally, it discusses how moderator and intervening variables can influence the outcomes of research studies.

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20 views3 pages

Variable

The document explains the concept of variables in research, detailing types such as independent, dependent, moderator, control, and intervening variables. It provides examples from various disciplines to illustrate how these variables interact in experiments, emphasizing the importance of understanding their relationships. Additionally, it discusses how moderator and intervening variables can influence the outcomes of research studies.

Uploaded by

Renggie aragoza
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 DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Variable: the quantity or characteristic that has two or more mutually exclusive values of

properties. It is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category
a researcher is trying to measure.

Example: age, civil status, educational qualification

Types of Variable:
1. Independent Variable
2. Dependent Variable
3. Moderator Variable
4. Control Variable
5. Intervening Variable

Independent variable: the stimulus variable which is chosen by the researcher to


determine its relationship to an observed phenomenon

Dependent variable: the response variable which is observed and measured to


determine the effect of the independent variable.

Examples from different disciplines to illustrate how these variables interact in


experiments and research
1. Education
 Independent variable: type of teaching method (traditional lecture vs. interactive
learning)
 Dependent variable: student test scores or academic performance
 Explanation: Researchers might want to see if changing the teaching method
improves student outcomes, with performance being the measurable outcome.
2. Medicine
 Independent variable: dosage of a new medication (e.g. 10 mg, 20 mg, or 30 mg)
 Dependent variable: patient's blood pressure
 Explanation: The study manipulates medication dosage to determine how it
affects blood pressure, with blood pressure serving as the outcome to be
measured.
3. Psychology
 Independent variable: level of stress (e.g. low, moderate, or high)
 Dependent variable: number of errors made on a memory task
 Explanation: Researchers could study how different stress levels influence a
person’s ability to remember information, with memory performance being the
dependent variable.
4. Marketing
 Independent variable: type of advertisement (social media ad vs. TV commercial)
 Dependent variable: consumer purchase intent or sales
 Explanation: Marketers might experiment with different ad platforms to see which
one drives more sales or engagement from consumers.
5. Environmental science
 Independent variable: amount of fertilizer used on plants
 Dependent variable: growth rate of the plants (measured by height or biomass)
 Explanation: By varying the amount of fertilizer, researchers can assess its
impact on plant growth.
Moderator Variable: a secondary or special type of independent variable chosen by the
researcher to ascertain if it alters or modifies the relationship between the dependent
and independent variables. It affects the strength of the relationship between a
dependent and independent variable. In correlation, a moderator is a third variable that
affects the correlation of two variables.

For instance, if an investigator wants to determine the effects of A on B, but suspects


that a third factor C alters or modifies the relationship between A and B, then C is
considered as a moderator variable

Moderators usually help judge the external validity of the study by identifying the
limitations of when the relationship between variables holds. For example, while social
media use can predict levels of loneliness, this relationship may be stronger for
adolescents than for older adults. Age is a moderator.

Moderators can be:

Categorical variables such as ethnicity, race, religion, favorite colors, health status, or
stimulus type,
Quantitative variables such as age, weight, height, income, or visual stimulus size.

In a study on work experience and salary, you hypothesize that:


 years of work experience predicts salary
 gender identity moderates the relationship between work experience and salary.
This means that the relationship between years of experience and salary would differ
between men, women, and those who do not identify as men or women.

Control Variable
 The variable controlled by the researcher in which the effects can be neutralized
by eliminating or removing the variable.
 Variable held constant in order to assess or clarify the relationship between two
other variables.
 When we "control a variable" we wish to balance its effect across subjects and
groups so that we can ignore it, and just study the relationship between the
independent and the dependent variables.
Intervening Variable: A variable which interferes with the independent and dependent
variables, but the effects can either strengthen or weaken the independent and
dependent variables.

In psychology, the intervening variable is sometimes called a mediator variable. In


statistics, an intervening variable is usually considered to be a sub-type of mediating
variable.

Example 1: Education & Spending

Researchers may be interested in the relationship between education (the independent


variable) and yearly spending (the dependent variable). After collecting data on
education level and yearly spending for 1,000 individuals, they find that there is a strong
positive correlation between the two variables. In particular, they find that individuals
who have more education tend to spend more. However, without realizing it the
researchers have failed to take note of the intervening variable income. It turns out that
individuals who have higher levels of education tend to hold higher-paying jobs, which
means they naturally have more money to spend.

Example 2: Poverty and Life Expectancy

Researchers may be interested in the relationship between poverty (the independent


variable) and life expectancy (the dependent variable).
After collecting data on poverty and life expectancy for 10,000 individuals, they find that
there is a strong correlation between the two variables. In particular, they find that more
impoverished individuals tend to have lower life expectancies. However, without realizing
it the researchers have failed to take note of the intervening variable healthcare. It turns
out that individuals who are more impoverished have less reliable access to healthcare,
which naturally means that they have lower life expectancies.

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