Variables

Variables
A variable is a label or name that represents a
concept or characteristic that varies (e.g.,
gender, achievement, attitudes toward
inclusion, etc.).
Conceptual and operational definitions of
variables:
Conceptual (i.e., constitutive) definition uses
words or concepts to define a variable:
1. Achievement: what one has learned from
formal instruction
2. Aptitude: one's capability for performing a
particular task or skill
Operational definition is an indication of the
meaning of a variable through the
specification of the manner by which it is
measured, categorized, or controlled
 IQ score
 Income levels below and above $45,000
per year
 Use of holistic or phonetic language
instruction
There are many potential functions or
benefits of variable and feature selection
in research, such as:

facilitating data visualization and

understanding,
reducing the measurement and storage
requirements,
reducing training and utilization times, and
defying the curse of dimensionality to
improve prediction performance.
 Types of variables

Three variable labels defined by the context

within which the variable is discussed:

1. Independent and dependent variables

2. Extraneous and confounding variables
3. Continuous and categorical variables
 Independent and dependent (i.e., cause and
effect):
Independent variables act as the "cause" in
that they precede, influence, and predict the
dependent variable
Dependent variables act as the effect in that
they change as a result of being influenced by
an independent variable
Examples:
a. The effect of two instructional approaches
(independent variable) on student achievement
(dependent variable)
b. The use of SAT scores (independent variable) to
predict freshman grade point averages (dependent
Some situations do not lend themselves to
the use of the terms independent or
dependent because it is difficult to discuss
them in causal terms:
a. The relationship between attitude and
achievement, that is, do positive attitudes
cause high achievement or does high
achievement cause positive attitudes?
b. The relationship between creativity and
critical thinking, that is, do high levels of
creativity cause higher levels of critical
thinking or do higher levels of critical thinking
cause greater creativity?
 Extraneous and confounding
variables:
Extraneous variables are those that affect the
dependent variable but are not controlled
adequately by the researcher
Not controlling for the socio-economic status
of students involved in a study of the effects
of instructional technologies

Not controlling for the key-boarding skills of

students in a study of computer-assisted
instruction
Confounding variables are those that vary
systematically with the independent variable
and exert influence of the dependent variable:
 Not using counselors with similar levels of
experience in a study comparing the
effectiveness of two counseling approaches
 Not using the same test to measure the
effectiveness of two instructional approaches
 Continuous and categorical
variables
Continuous variables are measured on a scale
that theoretically can take on an infinite
number of values

a. Test scores range from a low of 0 to a high

of 100
b. Attitude scales that range from very
negative at 0 to very positive at 5
c. Students' ages
Categorical variables are measured and
assigned to groups on the basis of specific
characteristics
1. Examples
 Gender: male and female
 Grade level: K-12

 Socio-economic status: low, middle, and high

2. The term level is used to discuss the

groups or categories
 Gender has two levels - male and female

 Socio-economic status has three levels -

low, middle, and high
Continuous variables can be converted to
categorical variables, but categorical variables
cannot be converted to continuous variables

1. IQ is a continuous variable, but the researcher can

choose to group students into three levels based on
IQ scores - low is below a score of 84, middle is
between 85 and 115, and high is above 116

2. Test scores are continuous, but teachers typically

assign letter grades on a ten point scale (i.e., at or
below 59 is an F, 60 to 69 is a D, 70 to 79 is a C, 80-89
is a B, and 90 to 100 is an A