Identifying Variables (CONT........ )

Identifying Variables
CONT………
Types of variable
A variable can be classified in a number of ways. The classification

developed here results from looking at variables in three different
ways:
1. the causal relationship;

2. the study design;
3. the unit of measurement.
From the viewpoint of the study design
A study that examines association or causation may be
 a controlled/contrived (having an unnatural quality) experiment,

In experiments researchers manipulate (operate, handle) independent variables to test
their effects on dependent variables. In a controlled experiment, all variables other
than the independent variable are controlled or held constant so they don’t influence
the dependent variable.
 a quasi-experiment
A quasi-experiment is a type of research design that attempts to establish a cause-
and-effect relationship. The main difference with a true experiment is that the groups
are not randomly assigned.
 an ex post facto
a research method that looks into how an independent variable (groups with
certain qualities that already exist prior to a study) affects a dependent variable.
This entails particular characteristics or traits of a participant that cannot be
manipulated (controlled, influenced). Ex post facto design is considered a quasi-
experimental type of study, which means that participants are not randomly
assigned, but rather grouped together based upon specific characteristics or
traits they share.
 non-experimental study
research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable. Rather
than manipulating an independent variable, researchers conducting non-
experimental research simply measure variables as they naturally occur (in the
lab or real world).
In these situations there are two sets of variables
 Active variables – those variables that can be manipulated, changed

or controlled.
e.g: Consider a research project on the effect of water on greenhouse tomatoes. The amount of
water provided to each tomato is an active variable because it is controlled by the investigator. In
fact, their manipulation of that variable is the force that drives the experiment.
 Attribute variables – those variables that cannot be manipulated,

changed or controlled, and that reflect the characteristics of the study
population, for example age, gender, education and income.
e.g: An attribute variable could be a variable that is a fixed attribute like race, or gender; These
variables cannot be changed or manipulated by the researcher as they are an inherent part of a
person or object
Active and attribute variables
Study population
Study intervention Age
Gender
Different teaching models Level of motivation
Experimental intervention Attitudes
Programme service, etc Religion, etc
Active variables Attribute variables
A researcher can manipulate, A researcher cannot

control or measure manipulate, control or
measure
Suppose a study is designed to measure the relative effectiveness
of three teaching models (Model A, Model B and Model C).
• The structure and contents of these models could vary and any
model might be tested on any population group.
• The contents, structure and testability of a model on a population

group may also vary from researcher to researcher.
Suppose a study is designed to measure the relative effectiveness of
three teaching models (Model A, Model B and Model C).
• On the other hand, a researcher does not have any control over
characteristics of the student population such as their age, gender or
motivation to study.
• These characteristics of the study population are called attribute

variables.
• However, a researcher does have the ability to control and/or change

the teaching models. S/he can decide what constitutes a teaching
model and on which group of the student population it should be
tested (if randomisation is not used).
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement, there are two ways of
categorising variables:
 whether the unit of measurement is categorical (as in nominal and

ordinal scales) or continuous in nature (as in interval and ratio
scales);
 whether it is qualitative (as in nominal and ordinal scales) or

quantitative in nature (as in interval and ratio scales).
On the whole there is very little difference:
 between categorical and qualitative, and
 between continuous and quantitative, variables.
The slight difference between them is explained below.
Categorical variables are measured on nominal or ordinal

measurement scales, whereas for
Continuous variables the measurements are made on either an

interval or a ratio scale.
There are three types of categorical variables:
constant variable – has only one category or value, for example taxi,
tree and water;
dichotomous variable – has only two categories, as in male/female,

yes/no, good/bad, head/tail, up/down and rich/poor;
polytomous variable – can be divided into more than two categories,

for example religion (Christian, Muslim, Hindu); political parties
(Labor, Liberal, Democrat); and attitudes (strongly favourable,
favourable, uncertain, unfavourable, strongly unfavourable).
Continuous variables,
on the other hand, have continuity in their measurement,
for example age, income and attitude score.
They can take any value on the scale on which they are measured.
• Age can be measured in years, months and days.

• Similarly, income can be measured in dollars and cents.
Similarity between qualitative variables and categorical variables:
In many ways qualitative variables are similar to categorical variables as both use
either nominal or ordinal measurement scales.
Differences between qualitative variables and categorical variables:
• For example, it is possible to develop categories on the basis of measurements

made on a continuous scale, such as measuring the income of a population in
dollars and cents and then developing categories such as ‘low’, ‘middle’ and
‘high’ income.
• The measurement of income in dollars and cents is classified as the measurement of
a continuous variable, whereas its subjective measurement in categories such as
‘low’, ‘middle’ and ‘high’ groups is a qualitative variable.
Although this distinction exists, for most practical purposes there is no
real difference between categorical and qualitative variables or
between continuous and quantitative variables.
For a beginner it is important to understand that:
 the way a variable is measured determines the type of analysis that

can be performed, the statistical procedures that can be applied to the
data, the way the data can be interpreted and the findings that can be
communicated.
 The way you measure the variables in your study determines whether
a study is ‘qualitative’ or ‘quantitative’ in nature.
It is therefore important to know about the measurement scales for

variables.
Types of measurement scale
 Measurement is central to any enquiry.
 In addition to the ideology and philosophy that underpin each mode of

enquiry, the most significant difference between qualitative and
quantitative research studies is in the types of measurement used in
collecting information from the respondents.
 Qualitative research mostly uses descriptive statements to seek answers

to the research questions, whereas
 in quantitative research these answers are usually sought on one of the

measurement scales (nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio).
Measurement scale into four categories:
1. nominal or classificatory scale;
2. ordinal or ranking scale;
3. interval scale;
4. ratio scale.
The nominal or classificatory scale
 A nominal scale enables the classification of individuals, objects or

responses based on a common/shared property or characteristic.
 These people, objects or responses are divided into a number of

subgroups in such a way that each member of the subgroup has a
common characteristic.
 A variable measured on a nominal scale may have one, two or

more subcategories depending upon the extent of variation.
For example,
• ‘water’ and ‘taxi’ have only one subgroup, whereas
• the variable ‘gender’ can be classified into two subcategories: male and female.
• Political parties in Australia can similarly be classified into four main

subcategories: Labor, Liberal, Democrats and Greens. Those who identify
themselves, either by membership or belief, as belonging to the Labor Party are
classified as ‘Labor’, those identifying with the Liberals are classified as
‘Liberal’, and so on.
The name chosen for a subcategory is notional, but for effective communication it
is best to choose something that describes the characteristic of the subcategory.
The ordinal or ranking scale
 An ordinal scale has all the properties of a nominal scale –

categorising individuals, objects, responses or a property into
subgroups on the basis of a common characteristic – but also ranks
the subgroups in a certain order.
 They are arranged in either ascending or descending order according

to the extent that a subcategory reflects the magnitude of variation in
the variable.
For example,
• income can be measured either quantitatively (in dollars and cents) or

qualitatively, using subcategories: ‘above average’, ‘average’ and ‘below
average’. (These categories can also be developed on the basis of quantitative
measures, for example below $10 000 = below average, $10 000–$25 000 =
average and above $25 000 = above average.) The subcategory ‘above
average’ indicates that people so grouped have more income than people in
the ‘average’ category, and people in the ‘average’ category have more
income than those in the ‘below average’ category. These subcategories of
income are related to one another in terms of the magnitude of people’s
income, but the magnitude itself is not quantifiable, and hence the difference
between ‘above average’ and ‘average’ or between ‘average’ and ‘below
average’ sub-categories cannot be discovered (made sure of).
• The same is true for other variables such as socioeconomic status and
attitudes measured on an ordinal scale.
The interval scale
 An interval scale has all the characteristics of an ordinal scale; that is,
individuals or responses belonging to a subcategory have a common
characteristic and the subcategories are arranged in an ascending or
descending order.
 In addition, an interval scale uses a unit of measurement that enables the

individuals or responses to be placed at equally spaced intervals in relation
to the spread of the variable.
 This scale has a starting and a terminating point and is divided into equally
spaced units/intervals. The starting and terminating points and the number
of units/intervals between them are arbitrary (based on random choice or personal
whim, rather than any reason or system) and vary from scale to scale.
Celsius and Fahrenheit scales are examples of an interval scale.
In the Celsius system the starting point (considered as the freezing point) is 0°C and
the terminating point (considered as the boiling point) is 100°C. The gap between the
freezing and boiling points is divided into 100 equally spaced intervals, known as
degrees.
In the Fahrenheit system the freezing point is 32°F and the boiling point is 212°F,
and the gap between the two points is divided into 180 equally spaced intervals. Each
degree or interval is a measurement of temperature – the higher the degree, the higher
the temperature.
 As the starting and terminating points are arbitrary (based on random choice or personal
whim, rather than any reason or system), they are not absolute; that is, you cannot say that
60°C is twice as hot as 30°C or 30°F is three times hotter than 10°F.
 This means that while no mathematical operation can be performed on the readings,
it can be performed on the differences between readings.
CONT……..
For example, if the difference in temperature between two objects, A

and B, is 15°C and the difference in temperature between two other
objects, C and D, is 45°C, you can say that the difference in temperature
between C and D is three times greater than that between A and B.
The ratio scale
 A ratio scale has all the properties of nominal, ordinal and interval scales and it also
has a starting point fixed at zero.
 Therefore, it is an absolute scale – the difference between the intervals is always

measured from a zero point.
 This means the ratio scale can be used for mathematical operations.
Examples:
• The measurement of income, age, height and weight are examples of this scale.
• A person who is 40 years of age is twice as old as a 20-year-old.
• A person earning $60 000 per year earns three times the salary of a person earning
$20,000.

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Identifying Variables

A variable can be classified in a number of ways. The classification

1. the causal relationship;

A study that examines association or causation may be

 a controlled/contrived (having an unnatural quality) experiment,

 Active variables – those variables that can be manipulated, changed

 Attribute variables – those variables that cannot be manipulated,

Active variables Attribute variables

A researcher can manipulate, A researcher cannot

• The contents, structure and testability of a model on a population

• These characteristics of the study population are called attribute

• However, a researcher does have the ability to control and/or change

 whether the unit of measurement is categorical (as in nominal and

 whether it is qualitative (as in nominal and ordinal scales) or

 between categorical and qualitative, and

 between continuous and quantitative, variables.

The slight difference between them is explained below.

Categorical variables are measured on nominal or ordinal

Continuous variables the measurements are made on either an

dichotomous variable – has only two categories, as in male/female,

polytomous variable – can be divided into more than two categories,

on the other hand, have continuity in their measurement,

for example age, income and attitude score.

• Age can be measured in years, months and days.

Differences between qualitative variables and categorical variables:

• For example, it is possible to develop categories on the basis of measurements

 the way a variable is measured determines the type of analysis that

It is therefore important to know about the measurement scales for

 Measurement is central to any enquiry.

 In addition to the ideology and philosophy that underpin each mode of

 Qualitative research mostly uses descriptive statements to seek answers

 in quantitative research these answers are usually sought on one of the

1. nominal or classificatory scale;

2. ordinal or ranking scale;

 A nominal scale enables the classification of individuals, objects or

 These people, objects or responses are divided into a number of

 A variable measured on a nominal scale may have one, two or

• ‘water’ and ‘taxi’ have only one subgroup, whereas

• Political parties in Australia can similarly be classified into four main

 An ordinal scale has all the properties of a nominal scale –

 They are arranged in either ascending or descending order according

• income can be measured either quantitatively (in dollars and cents) or

 In addition, an interval scale uses a unit of measurement that enables the

For example, if the difference in temperature between two objects, A

 Therefore, it is an absolute scale – the difference between the intervals is always

• A person who is 40 years of age is twice as old as a 20-year-old.

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