Variables

Variable is a concept which can take on different quantitative values.

The quantity which can vary from person to person (Kerlinger), in other words
“Variable is a property that taken on different value”,
For example; height, weight, income, age etc. The main focus of the scientific study is
to analyse the functional relationship of the variables. A variable is a quantity which can vary
from one individual to another.
It is any feature or aspect of an event, function or process that, by its presence and
nature, affects some other event or process, which is being studied.
Types of Variables
(i) Continuous Variable:
(ii) Discrete Variable:
(iii) Independent / Predictor/ Experimental Variable and, X (IDV)
(iv) Dependent / Criterion / Response, Predict Variable and, Y (DV)
(v) Controlled Variable:
(vi) Confounding Variable:
(vii) Intervening Variable:
(viii) Extraneous Variable:
(ix) Organismic Variable:

Qualitative/ Categorical variable

Categorical variables contain a finite number of categories or distinct groups. Categorical
data might not have a logical order. For example, categorical predictors include gender,
material type, and payment method.

Qualitative, or categorical, variables are non-numerical values or groupings. Examples might

include eye or hair colour. Researchers can further categorize qualitative variables into three
types:

Binary: Variables with only two categories, such as male or female, red or blue.

Nominal: Variables you can organize in more than two categories that do not follow a
particular order. Take, for example, housing types: Single-family home,
condominium, tiny home.

Ordinal: Variables you can organize in more than two categories that follow a
particular order. Take, for example, level of satisfaction: Unsatisfied, neutral,
satisfied.
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Quantitative variable
Quantitative variables can be classified as discrete or continuous.

Discrete variable
A variable for which the individual values fall on the scale only with distinct gaps is called a
discrete variable.
Discrete variables are numeric variables that have a countable number of values between
any two values. A discrete variable is always numeric. For example, the number of customer
complaints or the number of flaws or defects.

Continuous variable
It is that which can assume any numerical value within a specific range.
Continuous variables are numeric variables that have an infinite number of values between
any two values. A continuous variable can be numeric or date/time. For example, the length
of a part or the date and time a payment is received.

Independent Variable (IDV)

The variable that is antecedent to the dependent variable is termed as an independent
variable. The variable whose effect is going to be known is known as experimental variable.

An independent variable is one which remains unaffected by other variables. Alternately,

known as the predictor variable, explanatory variable and, controlled variable. It is a variable;
the researcher has control over its selection and manipulation, i.e. the levels can be changed,
or it changes on its own due to circumstances. Moreover, its effect on other variables is
measured and compared.
Dependent Variable (DV)
If one variable depends or is a consequence of other, it is termed as dependent variable.
Criterion variable is the basis on which the effectiveness of the experimental variable is
studied.
A dependent variable is a consequence of an independent variable i.e. it is variable that
measures the effect of the independent variable on the test units. It is also known as the
criterion or measured variable.
It is something that the experimenter observes during an experiment and is influenced by the
experiment. It is expected to change in response to some other factors. The revised value of
the dependent value depends on the independent variable.
BASIS FOR COMPARISON INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE
What is it? Antecedent Consequent
Relationship Presumed cause Observed effect
Regarded as Experiment Controller Experiment Measure
Values Manipulated by the researcher. Measured by the researcher.
Usually denoted by x y
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Controlled Variable:
The effectiveness of an experimental variable is examined by comparing with other variable,
known as controlled variable.
A control group is a group separated from the rest of the experiment such that the
independent variable being tested cannot influence the results. This isolates the
independent variable's effects on the experiment and can help rule out alternative
explanations of the experimental results.
An experimental group is a test sample or the group that receives an experimental
procedure. This group is exposed to changes in the independent variable being tested.
The values of the independent variable and the impact on the dependent variable are
recorded. An experiment may include multiple experimental groups at one time.
Confounding (confusing) 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.
They are of two types; Intervening and extraneous variable.
Intervening Variable:
An intervening variable is a theoretical variable the researcher uses to explain a cause
or connection between other study variables—usually dependent and independent ones. They
are associations instead of observations.

For example, if wealth is the independent variable, and a long life span is a dependent
variable, the researcher might hypothesize that access to quality healthcare is the intervening
variable that links wealth and life span.

There are a number of abstract variables in educational/social experiments, which intervene

the effect of experimental (IDV) or criterion (DV) variable.
For controlling intervening variable appropriate research design should be used. Intervening
variables are hard if not impossible, to observe because they usually have to do with an
individual’s feelings like boredom, stress, fatigue, excitement etc.
Extraneous variables
Extraneous variables should be controlled were possible, as they might be important enough
to provide alternative explanations for the effects.
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Independent variables that are not related to the purpose of the study, but may affect the
dependent variable are termed as extraneous variables.
Suppose the researcher wants to test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between
children’s gain in social studies achievement and their self-concept.
Here self-concept is independent variable and achievement in social study is dependent
variable. Intelligence may as well affect the social studies achievement; but since it is not
related to the purpose of the study undertaken by the researcher, it will be termed as
extraneous variable. Whatever effect is noticed on dependent variable as a result of
extraneous variable(s) is technically described as an ‘experimental error.’
Mediating and Moderating Variables Explained
What is the difference between a mediator and a moderator?
A very poetic way of describing a core feature of psychological research—to come up with
theories or explanations for various phenomena we observe.
Sometimes there isn’t a clear-cut relation between a dependent and independent variable.
In those cases, a mediating variable or a moderating variable can provide a more
illustrative account of how dependent (criterion) variables are related to independent
(predictor) variables.

Mediating variable
A mediating variable explains the relation between the independent (predictor) and the
dependent (criterion) variable. It explains how or why there is a relation between two
variables.
A mediator can be a potential mechanism by which an independent variable can produce
changes on a dependent variable. When you fully account for the effect of the mediator,
the relation between independent and dependent variables may go away.
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For instance, imagine that you find a positive association between note-taking and
performance on an exam. This association may be explained by number of hours studying,
which would be the mediating variable.
Moderating Variable
A moderator is a variable that affects the strength of the relation between the predictor and
criterion variable.
Moderators specify when a relation will hold. It can be qualitative (e.g., sex, race, class…)
or quantitative (e.g., drug dosage or level of reward).
Moderating variable are typically an interaction term in statistical models.

For instance, imagine researchers are evaluating the effects of a new cholesterol drug. The
researchers vary the participants in minutes of daily exercise (predictor/independent
variable) and measure their cholesterol levels after 30 days (criterion/dependent variable).
They find that at low drug doses, there is a small association between exercise and
cholesterol levels, but at high drug doses, there is a huge association between exercise and
cholesterol levels. Drug dosage moderates the association between exercise and
cholesterol levels.
Organismic Variable:
There are some variables which cannot be manipulated. They are accepted by the
researcher as they are.
They are levels of intelligence, gender, class levels, and the like. The researcher can
classify the subjects by sex but he cannot modify to suit his research condition.
If a researcher attempts to compare boys and girls on some learning task, any
differences might be attributed to gender differences but not necessarily so. The differences
between boys and girls could be due to differences in intelligence, training, motivation or a
myriad of other conditions present in all human beings and not necessarily to biological
differences between genders.
Those variables which cannot be manipulated and cannot themselves point out causal
relations are called organismic variables.