Types of Variables

1. Types of Variables
Fall 2014
Dr. Pedro L. Martinez
Educational Research and Assessment
Exploring Research Language

2.  Construct - a label for an abstract trait or ability
(e.g, intelligence, creativity) that is presumed
to exist, it cannot be measured directly
 Indicator- overt manisfestation(s) of a
presumed trait and the operationalized
definition
 Operationalized definition- an empirical
measure of the presumed indicator of a
construct or state
Construct

3. Operationalize these constructs:
 School achievement
 Motivation
 Get along
 Self-concept

4. When dealing with definitions of constructs…
 Constructs have to be empirically
proven
 What is the meaning of empirical?
 Is it an objective definition and
verifiable?
 Putting numbers next to the
name.
 Operational definitions will
determine the validity of the study.

5. Defining Variables
 Variable-any dimension that has two or
more values. Dimensions with changing values
(gender)
 Constant has only one value (female)
 What is the value of a constant?
-to control for extraneous factors.
 Variables are used to study relationships.
 Can a constant become a variable for another
researcher?

6. Types of Variables
 Independent variable-the variable presumed to have
a direct cause
 If A then B hypothesis
 True Independent-randomized
 Quasi Independent-not randomized
 Dependent-(outcomes, criterion measures) is the
measured outcome the presumed effect of some
cause.

7.  Attribute-pre-existing variable that cannot be
manipulated and yielded results that are masked by
independent variables. They defy manipulation but are
important because they may provide or shed a light on
differences that were not caused by the manipulation of
the independent variable.
 Extraneous- any variable external to the study that
impacts the results of the research and needs to be
controlled to neutralize its effect ( the third variable).
Attribute

8. How do we control for them?
 Random Assignment
 Avoid confounding
 Consider a research study that
intends to use a new teaching
method in math called Chisenbop
(Finger counting) deem superior
than the use of a calculator?

9. Quasi-Experimental and
Single-Case Designs
The Quasi-Experimental research designs are
used when it is impossible to randomly
assign participants to comparison groups
(quasi-experimental designs) and when a
researcher is faced with a situation where
only one or two participants can participate in
the research study (single case designs).
 Like experimental research, quasi-
experimental and single-case designs do
have manipulation of the independent
variable (otherwise they would not be
“experimental research” designs).

10. Quasi Designs
These are designs that are used when it is not
possible to control for all potentially confounding
variables; in most cases this is because the
participants cannot be randomly assigned to the
groups.
 Causal explanations can be made when using quasi-
experimental designs but only when you collect data
that demonstrate that plausible rival explanations are
unlikely, and the evidence will still not be as strong as
with one of the strong designs discussed in the
experimental research section.

11. Where do Quasi Designs Fall?
 You can view quasi-experiments as falling in the
center of a continuum with weak experimental
designs on the far left side and strong experimental
designs on the far right side. (In other words, quasi
designs are not the worst and they are not the best.
They are in-between or moderately strong designs.)
/------------------------------------/------------------------------------/
Weak
Quasi Strong
Designs Designs
Designs

12. Types of Quasi Designs
 Three quasi-experimental
research designs include the
following:
 1)the nonequivalent comparison-
group design,
 2)the interrupted time-series
design, and
 3)the regression discontinuity
design

13. Nonequivalent
Comparison-Group Design
 This is a design that contains a treatment group and
a nonequivalent untreated comparison group about of
which are administered pretest and posttest
measures. The groups are “nonequivalent” because
you lack random assignment (although there are
some control techniques that can help make the
groups similar such as matching and statistical
control). Because of the lack of random assignment,
there is no assurance that the groups are highly are
similar at the outset of the study.

14. Here is a depiction of the nonequivalent
comparison-group design:

15.  The Bivariate Distribution The Bivariate Distribution
The Bivariate Distribution

16. Another Visual Explanation
 C O X O
 C O O
 C indicates that groups are assigned by means
of a cutoff score,
 an O stands for the administration of a measure to a
group,
 an X depicts the implementation of a program,
 and each group is described on a single line (i.e., program
group on top, control group on the bottom).

17. Possible explanation
The design is not particularly strong at controlling for threats to internal
validity:
1) History: did some other current event affect the change in the dependent variable?
Researcher must gather qualitative data on possible events that could have affected the
fatality rate.
2) Maturation: were changes in the dependent variable due to normal developmental
processes?
3) Statistical Regression: did subjects come from low or high performing groups?
Statistical analysis is used to determine whether changes are due to statistical regression or
the independent variable.
4) Selection: were the subjects self-selected into experimental and control groups, which
could affect the dependent variable? Researcher must determine whether there were any
major changes in the population between the before and after measures.
5) Experimental Mortality: did some subjects drop out? did this affect the results?
Researcher must check whether some of the population dropped out after the implementation
of the treatment
6) Testing: Did the pre-test affect the scores on the post-test?
7) Instrumentation: Did the measurement method change during the research?
Researcher must ensure that the same test or versions of the test were measured in the same
way in all the years considered.
8) Design contamination: did the control group find out about the experimental

18.  Because there is no random assignment to
groups, confounding variables (rather than the
independent variable) may explain any difference
observed between the experimental and control
groups.
 The most common threat to the internal validity of
this type of design is differential selection. The
problem is that the groups may be different on
many variables that are also related to the
dependent variable (e.g., age, gender, IQ, reading
ability, attitude, etc.).

19. Here is a list of all of the primary threats to this
design.

20. Consider the following:
 It is a good idea to collect data
that can be used to demonstrate
that key confounding variables
are not the cause of the obtained
results. Hence, you will need to
think about potential rival
explanations during the planning
phase of your research study so
that you can collect the necessary
data to control for these factors.

21.  You can eliminate the influence of many confounding
variables by using the various control techniques,
especially statistical control (where you measure the
confounding variables at the pretest and control for them
using statistical procedures after the study has been
completed) and matching (where you select people to be
in the groups so that the members in the different groups
are similar on the matching variables).
 Only when you can rule out the effects of confounding
variables can you confidently attribute the observed group
difference at the posttest to the independent variable.
Confounding Variables

22. Interrupted Time-Series Design
 This is a design in which a treatment condition is
accessed by comparing the pattern of pretest
responses with the pattern of posttest responses
obtained from a single group of participants. In
other words, the participants are pretested a
number of times and then posttested a number of
times after or during exposure to the treatment
condition.

23. Here is a depiction of the interrupted time-
series design

24.  The pretesting phase is called the baseline which refers to
the observation of a behavior prior to the presentation of
any treatment designed to alter the behavior of interest.
 A treatment effect is demonstrated only if the pattern of
post-treatment responses differs from the pattern of
pretreatment responses. That is, the treatment effect is
demonstrated by a discontinuity in the pattern of
pretreatment and post-treatment responses.
 For example, an effect is demonstrated when there is a
change in the level and/or slope of the post-treatment
responses as compared to the pretreatment responses.
Baseline

25.  Many confounding variables are ruled out
in the interrupted time-series design
because they are present in both the
pretreatment and post-treatment
responses (i.e., the pretreatment and
post-treatment responses will not differ
on most confounding variables).
 However, the main potentially
confounding variable that cannot be ruled
out is a history effect. The history threat
is a plausible rival explanation if some
event other than the treatment co-occurs
with the onset of the treatment.
Compounding Variables

26. Think of many reasons why a Pre& Post-Test
might not be effective
 At its easiest, time-series experiments require little
more than good graphing skills, a skeptical attitude
toward one's pet hypotheses and the capacity to
subdivide the data to locate hidden effects. At its
most complex, it involves complicated statistical
analyses to separate the unaccountable variation of
indices across time from the determinant effects of
planned interventions

27. Regression Discontinuity Design
 This is a design that is used to
access the effect of a treatment
condition by looking for a
discontinuity in regression lines
between individuals who score
lower and higher than some
predetermined cutoff score on an
assignment variable.

28. Here is the depiction of the
design:

29.  For example you might use a standardized test as your
assignment variable, set the cut off at 50, and administer the
treatment to those falling at 50 or higher and use those with
scores lower that 50 as your control group.
 This is actually quite a strong design, and methodologists
have, for a number of years, been trying to get researcher to
use this design more frequently.
 One uses statistical techniques to control for differences on
the assignment variable and then checks to see whether the
groups significantly differ.
Discontinuity Design

30. Single-Case Experimental
Designs
 These are designs where the researcher
attempts to demonstrate an experimental
treatment effect using single participants, one
at a time.
 These may be described as single-case
designs: A-B-A design, A-B-A-B design,
multiple-baseline design, and the changing-
criterion design.

31. A-B-A and A-B-A-B Designs
 The A-B-A design is a design in which the
participant is repeatedly pretested (the first A
phase or baseline condition), then the
experimental treatment condition is administered
and the participant is repeatedly post-tested (the
B phase or treatment phase). Following the
post-testing stage, the pretreatment conditions
are reinstated and the participant is again
repeatedly tested on the dependent variable (the
second A phase or the return to baseline
condition).

32. Here is a depiction of the A-B-A
design:

33. Multiple Base Designs
 This is a design that investigates two or
more people, behaviors, or settings to
identify the effect of an experimental
treatment. The key is that the treatment
condition is successively administered to
the different people, behaviors, or settings

34. Here is a depiction of the design

35. Changing-Criterion Design
 This is a single-case design that is used when a behavior
needs to be shaped over time or when it is necessary to
gradually change a behavior through successive treatment
periods to reach a desired criterion.
 This design involves collecting baseline data on the target
behavior and then administering the experimental
treatment condition across a series of intervention phases
where each intervention phase uses a different criterion of
successful performance until the desired criterion is
reached.
 The criterion used in each successive intervention phase
should be large enough to detect a change in behavior but
small enough so that it can be achieved.

37. Chisanbop is a method of doing basic
arithmetic using your fingers. Is it more
effective than the calculator?
 Select a
hypothesis
 Research
hypothesis(if and
then)
 Think of an
alternative or
rival hypothesis
A null hypothesis
Select a type of design.
 Describe how you
would conduct the
research