Identification of variables

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INTRODUCTION
Variables are qualities, properties, or
characteristics of person, things, or
situations that change or vary.
Chinn & Kramer stated that ‘variables are
concepts at different level of abstraction
that are concisely defined to promote
their measurement or manipulation within
study’.
Variables are classified based on their
nature, actions, & effects on the variables

TYPES OF VARIABLES
Independent and dependent variables
Research variable
Demographic variables
Extraneous variables

Independent and dependent
variables
 These are to two variables which are interrelated &
mainly observed in correlational, interventional,
pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, experimental
research studies.
 An independent variable:
It is a stimulus or activity that is
manipulated or varied by the researcher to create
the effect on the dependent variable.
 A dependent variable:
It is the outcome or response due to
the effect of the independent variable, which
researcher wants to predict or explain.

Count…
For example;
“Effectiveness of planned teaching on the
knowledge of staff nurses working in
psychiatric unit regarding Physical
Restraints for psychiatric patient in selected
hospital of Vidharbha region”.
in this study planned
teaching is an independent variable & knowledge
is the dependent variable

Research variable
 In descriptive, exploratory, comparative, &
qualitative research studies, variable are
observed or measured in natural setting as they
exist, without manipulating or imposing the
effect of intervention or treatment.
 Here no independent variable is manipulated &
no cause-effect relationship is examined; these
variable are considered as research variable.
 Therefore, research variables can be defined as
qualities, attributes, properties or characteristics
which are observed or measured in a natural
setting without manipulating & establishing
cause-&-effect relationship.

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For example;
„An exploratory study on factors
contributing to sleep disturbance among
patients admitted in selected intensive
care unit of AIMS, New Delhi‟.
In this research study,
“factors contributing to sleep
disturbance” is a research variable,
which is observed in natural setting
without manipulating it.

Demographic variables
 In most of the research studies, researchers
make the attempt to study the sample
characteristics & present them in research
findings.
 Sometimes researchers even try to establish
relations of the demographic variables with
the research variables.
 These characteristics & attributes of the
study subjects are considered as
demographic variables.
 Common demographic variables are age,
gender, educational status, religion, social
class, marital status, habitat, occupation,
income, & medical diagnosis etc.

Extraneous variables
 Extraneous variables are the factors
which are not the part of the study but
may affect the measurement of the
study variables.
 These variables are usually recognized
& controlled by researchers in quasi-
experimental & experimental studies.
 Generally, specific research design &
sample inclusion & exclusion criteria are
used to control the influence of
extraneous variables.

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For example:
‘A study is conducted to assess the effect of two
different pin site care protocols on prevention of
pin site infection among patients with external
skeletal fixation’.
 In this study, pin site care protocols are
independent variable, pin site infection is the
dependent variable .
 However, the dependent variable, pin site
infection may also be influenced by some of the
other factors such as low hemoglobin level or
higher blood sugar level among these patients;
these factors are considered as extraneous
variables, which may have unwanted effect onwww.drjayeshpatidar.blogspot.com

Types of
study
Example of the research problem
statement
variables
Descriptive A descriptive study on prevalence of anemia
among adolescent girls in selected villages of
district Gulbarga, Karnataka
Research variable:
Prevalence of anemia
Exploratory An exploratory study on contributing factors of
anemia among adolescent girls in selected
villages of district Gulbarga, Karnataka.
Research variable:
Contributing factors of
anemia
Correlationa
l
A correlational study on smoking & lung cancer
among slum dwellers of city Mumbai.
Independent variable:
Smoking
Dependent variable: Lung
cancer
Comparative A comparative study on health problems among
rural & urban older people of district Mehsana,
Gujrat.
Research variable: Health
problems
experimenta
l
An experimental study on efficacy of oral
morphine in management of chronic cancer pain
among advanced stage cancer patients admitted in
hospice at Mehsana.
Independent variable: Oral
morphine
Dependent variable: Chronic
cancer pain
Quasi-
experimenta
A quasi-experimental study of effect of needle
gauge on pain perception among patients
Independent variable: Needle
gaugewww.drjayeshpatidar.blogspot.com

Types of
study
Example of the research problem
statement
variables
phenomenologic
al
A phenomenological study on live experiences of
tsunami victims in selected villages of state Tamil
Nadu
Research variable: Live
Experiences
Ethnographical An ethnographic study on the features, critical
attributes, processes, & benefits of self-help
groups of women living with chronic alcoholic
husbands in selected villages of district Mehsana,
Gujrat.
Research variable:
Features, critical
attributes, process &
benefits of self-help
groups
Grounded theory A study on the response & adaptation process of
patients diagnosed with cancer in Lions Hospital
Mehsana, Gujrat.
Research variable:
Response & adaptation
process
Case study A case study on availability & utilization of
emergency services in public hospital at Ludhiana,
Punjab
Research variable:
Availability & utilization
of emergency services
Historical study A historic study on experiences of ward facilities
for psychiatric nurses during the 1960s & 1970s in
National Institute of Mental Health &
Neurosciences, Bangalore
Research variable:
Experiences of ward
facilities.
Action research A study on practicability of integrating the nursing
service & education in selected premier nursing
Research variable:
Practicability of

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF
VARIABLES
 In research study, each variable or
concept must be operationally defined.
 An operational definition of variable
provides the theoretical or conceptual
meaning of variable under study.
 This definition of the variables may be
derived from conceptual or theoretical
framework on which study is based or
may be stated in a form in which
variables are expected to be studied in
present study.

Count…
For example:
“Effectiveness of planned teaching on the
knowledge of staff nurses working in
psychiatric unit regarding Physical
Restraints for psychiatric patient in selected
hospital of Vidharbha region”.
In this problem statement
there are five variables, effectiveness, planned
teaching, knowledge, nurse & physical restraint,
which need to operationally defined.

Identification of variables

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