Variables in research
- 2. Research is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypothesis, suggests new interpretations of data or texts, and poses new questions for future research to explore. Research consists of:- 1. Asking a question that nobody has asked before 2. Doing the necessary work to find the answer 3. Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience.
- 4. Variable is central idea in Research. Simply defined as, variable is a concept that varies. It can be in Quantity, Intensity, Amount and Types. It takes two or more values. Variable is a measurable characteristics that varies. It may change from group to group, person to person or within person over time. In research science, variable refer to factor or condition that can change during the course of an experiment. Thus, variable is anything that may assume different numerical and categorical values.
- 5. Gender is a variable it can take two values:- Male and Female. Marital status is a variable. It can take on values of never married, single, married divorced or widowed. A variable may be situation specific.
- 7. Dependent variable is also known as ‘Responding variable’. It depends on the values that result from the Independent variables. Simply, the Dependent variable is what is affected by the Independent variables. The Dependent variable(DV) is just like name sounds: it depends upon some factor that you, the researcher, controls. For example:- 1. How well you perform in a race depends on your Training. 2. How much you earn depends upon the number of hours you work. There can be one or more dependent variable in an experiment.
- 8. Independent variable is also known as ‘Manipulated variable’. Simply, the Independent variable is the condition that you change in experiment. It is the variable you control. It is called independent because its value doesn’t affected by the other variable. There can be only one Independent variable in an experiment & it produces one or more results known as Dependent variable. For example:- 1. Ice-cream leads to Fever. 2. IQ varies with Age.
- 9. Independent variable Dependent variable •Presumed cause • Presumed effect •Stimulus • Response • Predicted from • Predicted to • Manipulated • Measured outcome
- 10. Moderating variable is one that has strong contingent effect on the Independent & Dependent variable relationship. That is, the presence of third variable(the moderating variable). For example:- If X is the predictor & Y is an outcome variable then Z is the Moderating variable that affects the casual relationship of X & Y. Examples :- Hours of study (Independent variable) Exam score (Dependent variable) IQ (Moderati ng variables)
- 11. Intervening variable is a variable whose Existence is inferred but it can’t be measured and manipulated. They are not directly observable but that link the independent and dependent variables. It helps in explain the relationship between two variables. INCOME LEVEL OF EDUCATION SPENDING
- 12. Controlled variable is the factor that is kept constant (unchanged) all throughout the experiment in order to test the relative relationship of the Interdependent and dependent variables. There are many controlled variables in an experiment. It strongly influences experimental results. For example:- Q. If we are testing to see how the amount of light received affects plant growth: 1. In plant growth experiment, water and fertilizer levels are constant.
- 13. It is also called “Confounding variables”. Extraneous variable are factors in the research which may have an effect on the Dependent variables but which are not controlled. Extraneous variables are dangerous. They may damage a study’s validity. In other words, these are all variable, which are not the Independent variable, but could affect the result of the experiment. They are things that influence our result, and are a source of Error. For instance, if we are testing the influence of temp. on plant growth, we want to make sure that soil type and amount of water given are constant; otherwise, they are extraneous variables.