3is 1-2

• Types of Variables

  • Continuous
  • Discrete
• Continuous variable


  Takes an infinite number of values that can occur within the population. Examples: age, height, temperature
• Interval variable


  Values that lie along an evenly dispersed range of numbers. Examples: temperature, net worth
• Ratio variable


  Values that lie along an evenly dispersed range of numbers. Examples: height, weight, distance. Ratio variables never fall below zero.
• Discrete variable


  Also known as categorical or classificatory variable. Has a limited number of distinct values.
• Discrete variables

  • Nominal
  • Ordinal
• Nominal variable


  Represented categories that cannot be ordered in any particular way. Examples: eye color, religion, affiliation
• Ordinal variable


  Represent categories that can be ordered from greatest to lowest. Can also be ranked. Examples: educational level, income brackets
• Kinds of Variables


  • Independent variable
  • Dependent variable
  • Intervening or mediating variable
  • Control variable
  • Confounding variable
• Independent variable


  Probably the cause, influence or affect outcomes. Also called treatment, manipulated, antecedent or predictor variable.
• Dependent variable


  Depends on the independent variable. Influenced by the outcome or the performance.
• Intervening or mediating variable


  Stands between the independent and dependent variables, showing the effects of the independent and dependent variables. Example: gravity, intelligence
• Control variable


  Special type of independent variable that potentially influences the dependent variable. Examples: demographic, temperature of the room, duration of the experiment
• Confounding variable


  Not actually measured or observed in the study, but may exist and operate to explain the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Examples: socioeconomic status, Hawthorne effect
• Hawthorne effect is when subjects of an experimental study attempt to change or improve their behavior simply because it is being evaluated or studied
• Research question


  Refers to the SOP or statement of the problem
• Research problem


  A statement of a concern in any area, a problem that needs immediate solution, a recurring difficulty that is necessary to be taken out of the situation, or a practical question from a scholarly inquiry in different disciplines
• What to focus or keep in mind

  • Have a SMART objective
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Realistic
  • Timebound
• Research questions should be in interrogative form
• Factor-isolating questions


  The major concern of these questions is to categorize, label, or name factors and situations that exist or those that are present in the perimeter of the research work
• Factor-relating questions


  Establishing relationships between and among factors that have been identified
• Situation-relating questions


  These questions emphasize the observable changes that happen to variable/s involved in the study as a result of experimentation
• Situation-producing questions


  These questions open the opportunity to create a definite course of action, policies or conditions in order to accomplish or to achieve a certain goal
• Types of Quantitative Research Questions

  • Descriptive research questions
  • Relation questions
  • Causal questions