Lesson 3: Kinds of Variables and their UsesLearning Competency:Differentiate kinds of variables and their uses. CS_RS12-Ia-c-3 (from Curriculum Guide)Key TermsVariables: nominal, ordinal, interval & ratioIndependent variables, dependent variables, intervening variables, control variables, confounding variablesDescriptive research designs: survey, correlational, ex post facto, comparative & evaluativeVariableMeans “vary” or “can change”Something that can take more than one value, and values can be words or numbers (Bernard, 1994).Any entity that can take on different values. An attribute is a specific value of a variableA characteristic or attribute of an individual or an organization that can be measured or observed and that varies among the people or organization being studied (Creswell, 2002).Examples: age, sex, gender, education, income, marital status, and occupation.Types of variables1.Nominal variable– categories that cannot be ordered in any particular way.Ex. Biological sex (male & female)political affiliationbasketball fan affiliation2.Ordinal– categories that can be ordered from greatest to smallest.Ex. Education level (elementary, secondary, tertiary)3.Interval – have values that lie along an evenly dispersed range of numbers. Show
Watch the video for a brief overview of several common types of variables: Can’t see the video? Click here. A “variable” in algebra really just means one thing—an unknown value. However, in statistics, you’ll come across dozens of types of variables. In most cases, the word still means that you’re dealing with something that’s unknown, but—unlike in algebra—that unknown isn’t always a number. Some variable types are used more than others. For example, you’ll be much more likely to come across continuous variables than you would dummy variables. The following lists are sorted into common types of variables (like independent and dependent) and less common types (like covariate and noncomitant). Click on any bold variable name to learn more about that particular type.
Less Common Types of Variables
Types of Variables: ReferencesDodge, Y. (2008). The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics. Springer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Need help with a homework or test question? With Chegg Study, you can get step-by-step solutions to your questions from an expert in the field. Your first 30 minutes with a Chegg tutor is free! Comments? Need to post a correction? Please Contact Us. What kind of variable that are not actually measured or observed in a study they exist but their influence Cannot be directly detected in a study?Latent Variable: a hidden variable that can't be measured or observed directly.
What type of variable Cannot be observed and measured directly?A latent variable is a variable that cannot be observed.
Which variables Cannot be measured?Categorical variables
A categorical variable (also called qualitative variable) refers to a characteristic that can't be quantifiable. Categorical variables can be either nominal or ordinal.
What do you call variables that influence a study but were not actually included in the study?Extraneous variables are factors that affect the dependent variable but that the researcher did not originally consider when designing the experiment. These unwanted variables can unintentionally change a study's results or how a researcher interprets those results.
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