Accounting Research

Methods

Fershie D. Yap, Ph.D.

College of Accountancy and Business Administration
CHAPTER 6: VARIABLES AND THEIR TYPES

Variable
 a concept which can take on different quantitative values
 a quantity which can vary from one individual to another
 quantity which can vary from person to person
 a property that taken on different value
CHAPTER 6: VARIABLES AND THEIR TYPES

Example:
 Gender is a variable; it can take two values: male or female.
 Marital status is a variable; it can take on values of never married, single, married,
divorced, or widowed.
 Family income is a variable; it can take on values from zero to billions of Pesos.
 Person’s attitude toward women empowerment is variable; it can range from highly
favorable to highly unfavorable
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Continuous Variable:
 can assume any numerical value within a specific range
 A random variable that assumes all the possible values in a continuum
 Can take any value within the given range
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Continuous Variable:
 can assume any numerical value within a specific range
 A random variable that assumes all the possible values in a continuum
 Can take any value within the given range
Discrete Variable:
 Has limited number of distinct values and which cannot be divided into fractions
 countable in a finite amount of time
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Dependent Variable:
 The outcome variables
 The variables researcher calculate statistics
 A variable that depends or a consequence of other
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Dependent Variable:
 The outcome variables
 The variables researcher calculate statistics
 A variable that depends or a consequence of other
Independent Variable:
 Variables which are manipulated or controlled or changed
 It is what the researcher studies to see its relationship or effects
 The variable that antecedent to the dependent variables
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Example:
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Example:
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Controlled Variable:
 anything that is held constant or limited in a research study
 could influence the outcomes
 hold constant for all observations in an experiment
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Controlled Variable: Examples

 anything that is held constant or limited in a research study
 could influence the outcomes
 hold constant for all observations in an experiment
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Controlled Variable:
 anything that is held constant or limited in a research study
 could influence the outcomes
 hold constant for all observations in an experiment
Confounding Variable:
 Those aspects of study or sample, that might influence the dependent variable (outcome
measures), and whose effect may be confused with the effects of the independent
variable.
 influences the dependent variable, and also correlates with or causally affects the
independent variable.
TYPES OF VARIABLES
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Controlled Variable:
 anything that is held constant or limited in a research study
 could influence the outcomes
 hold constant for all observations in an experiment
Confounding Variable:
 Those aspects of study or sample, that might influence the dependent variable (outcome
measures), and whose effect may be confused with the effects of the independent
variable.
 influences the dependent variable, and also correlates with or causally affects the
independent variable.
 Intervening Variables (mediating)- are used in order to explain the relationship between two
variables
 Extraneous Variable - are used in the experiment but are kept hidden and are not studied are
known as extraneous variables
TYPES OF VARIABLES
TYPES OF VARIABLES
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Moderating Variable:
 affects the relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Moderating Variable:
 affects the relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable
TYPES OF VARIABLES

Moderating Variable:
 affects the relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable