KINDS OF

VARIABLES
AND THEIR
USES
What is the meaning of
variable?
 VARIABLES
It is any factor or property that
a research measures, controls,
or manipulate.
It is also the changing quantity
or measure of any factor, trait
or condition.
 VARIABLES
It is from the root word “VARY”
which means to undergo
changes or to differ from.
It is also a logical set of
attributes, characteristics,
quantities that can be
measured or counted.
Also known as data item
 EXAMPLE
• time, age, temperature, height,
weight, type of learners, and more

•changing qualities or characteristics

of persons or things like age, gender,
intelligence, ideas, achievements,
confidence, etc.
 VARIABLES
For instance, as years go by, your age
or intelligence increases; however,
placed in a situation where you are
afflicted with disease or have no means
of reading or no access to any sources
of knowledge, your intelligence tends to
decrease (Suter, 2013).
Directions: Analyze the picture and
state how many variables you can
find on it.
source: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4914570/
CLASSIFICATION OF
VARIABLE
 Classification of variables
•Numeric variables
•Categorical variables
•Experimental variables
•Non-experimental variables
•Variables according to the number
being studied
 KINDS OF
EXPERIMENTAL
VARIABLE
INDEPENDENT Variables (IV)
•Usually manipulated in an
experiment
•Also called “manipulated or
explanatory” variables
•It is known as the CAUSE
variable.
 ACTIVE (IV)
•An intervention or condition that are
being applied to the participants.
•A special tutorial for the third
graders, a new therapy for
clients, or a new training program
being tested on employees would be
active IVs.
 ATTRIBUTE (IV)
•An intrinsic characteristics of the
participants that are suspected of
causing a result.
•For example, if you are examining
whether gender—which is intrinsic
to the participants— results in
higher or lower scores on some
skill, gender is an attribute IV.
 ATTRIBUTE (IV)
•Sometimes called a passive variable
•A type of variable that is not
manipulated in experiments.
•It is fixed, cannot be changed or
manipulated as they are inherent
part of a person or object
•Example sex, race, or gender
 DEPENDENT Variables (DV)
•Usually affected by the manipulation
of the independent variables
•Called as response” or predicted”
variables
•Outcome or Effect variable
•The dependent variable receives the
intervention/treatment/IV.
 Example
During the quarantine period, Mrs.
Andrade planted tomato seedlings in
pots. Now common understanding
from science tells you that several
factors are affecting the growth of
tomatoes: sunlight, water, kind of soil,
and nutrients in soil. How fast the
tomato seedlings will grow and bear
fruits will depend on these factors.
 Example
INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT EXTRANEOUS
VARIABLES VARIABLES VARIABLES
 Example
INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT EXTRANEOUS
VARIABLES VARIABLES VARIABLES
KIND OF SOIL GROWTH OF
TOMATOES
WATER NUMBER OF
FRUITS
PRODUCED
SUNLIGHT
 REMEMBER
•The independent
variables is the one we
researcher change or
manipulate to see if it will
make changes to the
dependent variables.
 REMEMBER
•In an experimental quantitative
design, the independent
variable is pre-defined and
manipulated by the researcher
while the dependent variable is
observed and measured.
 EXTRANEOUS VARIABLE
Also called as “mediating or
intervening variables
Existing already, and could
influence the result of the study
Not intentionally study but may
affect the result of experiment
 “
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES
 variables present in the experiment that aren't
being studied
 might affect the dependent
variable/outcome/result of the study
 also known as undesirable variables because they
add error to an experiment
 If left uncontrolled, extraneous variables can lead
to inaccurate conclusions about the relationship 24

between independent and dependent variables.

(Bhandari, 2021)
 “
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

25
 “
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

26
 THREE CATEGORIES of
“
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

1. Physical or Situational Variables: These occur

when the physical situation of subjects changes for certain
groups, like the fact that women shown the most romantic
proposals are in a warmer room.
2. Personal Variables: These are when one group has
personality or other traits that members of the other group
don't. For example, what if the women shown the most
romantic video clips are also more romantic in nature than
the other women? 27
 THREE CATEGORIES of
“
EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES

3. Researcher Variables: These are when the researcher, himself,

does something different for the various groups of the experiment.
For example, what if Josh was really nice to the women who saw the
two romantic videos, and he was very gruff with the other groups?
Note: If all of your subjects are exposed to the same extraneous
variable (like if Josh was nice to all the subjects), then it won't
change your dependent variable, and it's not considered an
extraneous variable.

28
 Example
INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT EXTRANEOUS
VARIABLES VARIABLES VARIABLES
KIND OF SOIL GROWTH OF Presence of pest
TOMATOES
WATER NUMBER OF Environmental
FRUITS stressor like
PRODUCED weather
SUNLIGHT
 REMEMBER!!!
• Since extraneous variables may affect the
result of the experiment, it is crucial for the
researcher to identify them prior to
conducting the experiment and control them
in such a way that they do not threaten the
internal validity (i.e. accurate conclusion) of
the result.
• Controlling the extraneous variable can be
done by holding it constant or distribute its
effect across the treatment.
 CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
• When the researcher fails to
control the extraneous variable
that it caused considerable effect
to the outcome, the extraneous
variable becomes a Confounding
Variable.
 CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

• Confounding variables can affect

how IV acts on DV, which can lead to
a false result or effect on DV.
 “
CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

 unmeasured third variables that

influence both the supposed cause and
the supposed effect

33
 CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
For example, if the tomato had been infested by
pests (confounding variable) then you cannot
conclude that manipulations in sunlight, water
and soil nutrients (independent variable) are the
only contributing factors for the stunted growth
and poor yield (dependent variable) of the plant
or is it the result of both the independent
variables and the confounding variable.
 “
CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

 A variable must meet two conditions to be a

confounder:
It must be correlated with the independent
variable. This may be a causal relationship, but it
does not have to be.
It must be causally related to the dependent
variable. 35
 “
CRITERIA FOR POTENTIAL
CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

1. Be associated with exposure of interest

2. Be associated with the outcome of
interest
3. Not be a result of or caused by the
exposure of interest

36
 “
CONFOUNDING VARIABLES
You collect data on
sunburns and ice
cream consumption.
You find that higher
ice cream
consumption is
associated with a
higher probability of
sunburn. Does that
mean ice cream 37

consumption causes
sunburn?
 “
CONFOUNDING VARIABLES

Here, the confounding

variable is
temperature: hot
temperatures cause
people to both eat
more ice cream and
spend more time
outdoors under the
sun, resulting in more
sunburns (Thomas,
38

2021).
 “
Physical Activity reduces the risk of Myocardial
infraction

Physical Activity Myocardial infarction

Young age

39
 ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING
VARIABLES
1. A housewife wanted to know which soil is best
for her pechay plants: the soil purchased from an
online seller, soil from her backyard compost or the
soil underneath the nearby bamboo tree. She
planted 30 pechay seeds into each soil source and
then compared the growth of pechay after a month.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Extraneous variable:
 ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING
VARIABLES

2. Three groups of students were placed in a

classroom with controlled room temperatures of
18°C, 20°C, 25°C. The math exam scores of the
students were then taken and compared
to the other groups.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Extraneous variable:
 ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING
VARIABLES
3. An online seller would like to know whether the
indication of price on Facebook posts will attract
consumers more. He posted 50 products for sale on
Facebook market, 25 of which he indicated the price
while the remaining 25 products, did not have prices.
Buyers were just instructed to send him a personal
message (pm) if they want to know the price. He then
identified which products have greater sales.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Extraneous variable:
 ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING
VARIABLES
4. An A teacher wanted to know which learning delivery
modes (pure online, pure modular, combination of online and
modular) is most effective and has the fastest turnaround
time in the submission of accomplished activities among her
Grade 12 students. She divided the students into 3 groups,
gave them the same activity sheets and asked them to submit
as soon as it is completed. She then compared the scores and
completion time of the 3
groups.
Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
Extraneous variable:
 ACTIVITY 3:
INDIVIDUAL TASK
 LAS for Lesson 4:

From your approved topic, evaluate

the 3 title of their papers and identify
the independent, dependent, and
other variables.
Thank you!
God bless.

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