Variable:
A variable is any characteristics, number, or quantity that can be measured or
counted. A variable may also be called a data item. Age, sex, business income
and expenses, country of birth, vehicle type are examples of variables.
It is called a variable because the value may vary between data units in a
population, and may change in value over time.
In statistics, a variable has two defining characteristics:
1) A variable is an attribute that describes a person, place, thing, or idea.
2) The value of the variable can "vary' from one entity to another.
There are two types of Variables:
1)Qualitative
2)Quantitative
Variables can be classified as qualitative (categorical) or quantitative (numeric).
Qualitative. Qualitative variables take on values that are names or
labels.
The color of a ball (e.g., red, green, blue) or the breed of a dog (e.g., collie,
shepherd, terrier) would be examples of qualitative or categorical variables.
Quantitative. Quantitative variables are numeric. They represent a
measurable quantity. For example, when we speak of the population of
a city, we are talking about the number of people in the city - a
measurable attribute of the city.
Discrete vs. Continuous Variables
Quantitative variables can be further classified as discrete or continuous. If a
variable can take on any value between its minimum value and its maximum
value. it is called a continuous variable; otherwise, it is called a discrete
variable.
Some examples will clarify the difference between discrete
and continuous variables.
Suppose the fire department mandates that all fire fighters must weigh
between 150 and 250 pounds. The weight of a fire fighter would be an
example of a continuous variable; since a fire fighter's weight could take on
any value between 150 and 250 pounds.
Suppose we flip a coin and count the number of heads. The number of heads
could be ⁃ any integer value between 0 and plus infinity. However, it could not
be any number between 0 and plus infinity. We could not, for example, get 2.3
heads. Therefore, the number of heads must be a discrete variable,
Univariate vs. Bivariate Data- Statistical data are often classified
according to the number of variables being studied.
Univariate data. When we conduct a study that looks at only one
variable, we say that we are working with univariate data.
Suppose, for example, that we conducted a survey to estimate the average
weight of high school students. Since we are only working with one variable
(weight), we would be working with univariate data.
Bivariate Data. A set of information that has two different variables for
each data items. It refers pair of value.
Suppose, for example, that we conducted a survey to estimate the average
weight & height of high school students. Since we are working with two
variables (weight & height), we would be working with bivariate data.
At analysis level :
Dependent
Independent
Intervening
Extraneous
Confounding
Independent Variable:
* Variable that is presumed to influence other varie • It is the presumed
cause, whereas the dependerr variable is the presumed effect.
Dependent Variable:
* Variable affected by the independent variable • It responds to the
independent variable.
Example 1
You are interested in "How stress affects mental state of human
beings?"
Independent variable ----- Stress
Dependent variable ---- mental state of human beings
You can directly manipulate stress levels in your human subjects and
measure how those stress levels change mental state.
Example 2
Promotion affects emplovees' motivation
Independent variable ----- Promotion
Dependent variable ----Employees motivation
Example 3
<Predictors of Students? Performance in Chemistry Laboratory of
Selected Private Schools?
Independent variable ----- Chemistry Laboratory Activities
Dependent variable ---- Students' Performance
Intervening Variable:
It is a variable whose existence is inferred but cannot be measured.
Example:
Determining the effect of video clips on learning ability of students of
[Link]
The association between video clips and learning ability needs to be
explained
Other variables intervene
Such as anxiety, fatigue, motivation, improper diet, etc.
Intervening Variable…..
It is caused by the independent variable and is itself a cause of the
dependent variable
It is a variable that helps explain the relationship between two variables.
Example:
Higher education typically leads to higher income
Higher education----(independent variable)
Higher income----(dependent variable)
Better occupation---- intervening variable It is causally affected by
education and itself affects income.
Extraneous Variable:
Extraneous variable are undesirable variables that influence the relationship
between the variable and experiment.
In research extraneous variable that is not the independent variable but may
affect the result of the study.
Example: If you are testing the effect of a new teaching method on
student “test score” things like student ,,prior knowledge, the time of
day the test is taken, or the classroom temperature can all act as
extraneous variable.
Confounding Variable:
Hidden factors that affect both the cause and the affect in an experiment,
making the result misleading.
Example: Suppose you are researching between regular physical exercise
and the risk of type-2 diabetes. You find that people who exercise
regularly have a lower risk of type-2 diabetes.
However a confounding variable could be there “diet” people who
exercise more might also eat healthier food and you know healthy diet
also reduces the risk of diabetes. So both exercise and diet can affects
the result.
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Suhel Ahmed
ID-263-41-008