THE VARIABLES IN RESEARCH

The term ‘variable’ has been mentioned several times so that it is necessary to define it here. In
research, a variable refers to a “characteristics that has two or more mutually exclusive values or
properties” (Sevilla and Other, 1988). Sex, for instance, has two properties which are maleness and
femaleness. The ages of different persons have different values; so with their size, height, weight and
income. The phenomenon of variety is what makes life interesting; it is one of the motivating factors of
the research undertaking.
The root word of the word variable is “vary” or simply “can change”. These variables are among
the fundamental concepts of research, alongside with measurement, validity, reliability, cause and effect;
and theory. Bernard (1994) defines a variable as something that can take more than one value, and
values can be words or numbers.
A variable specifically refers to characteristics, or attribute of an individual or an organization that
can be measured or observed and that varies among the people or organization being studied (Creswell,
2002).

TYPES OF VARIABLES (ALLEN, TITSWORTH, HUNT, 2009)

1.
CONTINUOUS VARIABLES – A variable that can take infinite number on the value that can
occur within the population. Its values can be divided into fractions. Examples of this type of
variable include age, height, and temperature. Continuous variables can be further categorized as:

a. INTERVAL VARIABLES – It has values that lies along an evenly dispersed range of
numbers. It is a measurement where the difference between two values does have meaning.
Examples of interval data include temperature, a person’s net worth (how much money you
have when you subtract your debt from your assets), etc. In temperature, this may illustrate
as the difference between a temperature of 60 degrees and 50 degrees is the same as
difference between 30 degrees and 20 degrees. The interval between values makes sense
and can be interpreted.
b. RATIO VARIABLES – It has values that lies along an evenly dispersed range of numbers
when there is absolute zero. It possesses the properties of interval variable and has a clear
definition of zero, indication that there is none of that variable. Examples of which are
height, weight, and distance. Most scores stemming from response to survey items are ratio-
level values because they typically cannot go below zero. Temperature measured in degrees
Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit is not a ratio variable because 0 under these temperatures
scales does not mean no temperature at all.

2.
DISCRETE VARIABLES – This is also known as categorical or classificatory variable. This is
any variable that has limited number of distinct values and which cannot be divided into fractions
like sex, blood group, and number of children in family. Discrete variable may also categorized
into:
 a. NOMINAL VARIABLE – It represent categories that cannot be ordered in any particular
way. It is a variable with no quantitative value. It has two or more categories but does not
imply ordering of cases. Common examples of this variable include eye color, business type,
religion, biological sex, political affiliation, basketball fan affiliation, etc. A sub-type of nominal
scale with only two categories just like sex is known as dichotomous.
b. ORDINAL VARIABLE – It represent categories that can be ordered from greatest to
smallest. This variable has two or more categories which can be ranked. Examples of ordinal
variable include education level, income brackets, etc. An illustration of this is, if you asked
people if they liked listening to music while studying and they could answer either “NOT
VERY MUCH”, “MUCH”, “VERY MUCH” then you have an ordinal variable. While you can
rank them, we cannot place a value to them. In this type, distances between attributes do
not have any meaning. For example, you used educational attainment as a variable on survey,
you might code elementary school graduates = 1, high graduates = 2, college undergraduate
= 3, and college graduate = 4. In this measure, higher number means greater education.
Even though we can rank these from lowest to highest, the spacing between the values may
not be
the same across the levels of the variables. The distance between 3 and 4 is not the same
with the distance between 1 and 2.

KINDS OF VARIABLES

Several experts have lumped together the following as the major kinds of variables:

1. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES – Those that probably cause, influence, or affect outcomes.

They are invariably called treatment, manipulated, antecedent or predictor variables. This is the
cause variable or the one responsible for the conditions that act on something else to bring
about changes.

EXAMPLE: A study is on the relationship of study habits and academic performance of

UTNHS senior high school students. STUDY HABITS is the independent variable because it
influenced the outcome or the performance of the students.

2. DEPENDENT VARIABLES – those that depend on the independent variables; they are the
outcomes or results of the influence of the independent variable. That is why it is also called
outcome variable.

EXAMPLE: A study is on the relationship of study habits and academic performance of

UTNHS senior high school students. ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE is the dependent variable
because it is depending on the study habits of the students; if the students change their study
habit the academic performance also change.
3. INTERVENING OR MEDLING VARIABLES – Variables that “stand between” the
independent and dependent variables, and they show the effects of the independent variable on
the dependent variable.

EXAMPLE: Consider the given below. Even if farm production is good, if the attitude towards
payment is negative, loan repayment would be low, whereas, if the attitude towards repayment
is positive or favorable, loan repayment would be high.

FARM ATTITUDE
PRODUCTION LOAN
TOWARDS
REPAYMENT
REPAYMENT

DV IV DV

4. CONTROL VARIABLES – A special types of independent variables that are measured in

the study because they potentially influence the dependent variable. Researchers use statistical
procedures (e.g. analysis of covariance) to control these variables. They may be demographic
or personal variables that need to be “controlled” so that the true influence of the independent
variable on the dependent variable can be determined.

5. CONFOUNDING VARIABLES – Variables that are not actually measured or observed in

a study. They exist but their influence cannot be directly detected in a study. Researchers
comment on the influence of confounding variables after the study has been completed, because
these variables may have operated to explain the relationship between the independent
variables and dependent variable, but they were not or could not be easily assessed.