







Strength of Evidence Transferability Editor's Comments |
Understanding factors and variablesThis section aims to help you think about the factors that are interacting within the area you want to research. Within quantitative research these factors are called variables, which are categorised depending on the way they function in the context being studied. Exploring ways in which different types of variable are categorised in quantitative research provides insight also into the factors that need to be considered when planning a qualitative research design. Some variables considered in quantitative research Independent variable This is one of the variables specified in the central research question or purpose statement or hypothesis. To identify this variable look for the one influencing one or more of the other variables in the central question or purpose statement. The independent variable, as its name suggests, is not influenced by any of the other variables in the context being studied. Dependent variable This is the variable which is influenced by the other variables in the system and usually the aim of the research is to study the impact of the other variables on the dependent variable. Again this variable will be specified in the central question or purpose statement. Mediating (intervening) variables These variables ‘transmit (or mediate) the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable’ (Cresswell, 2011: 118). These can be grouped into two categories:
Confounding (spurious) variables These variables ‘are attributes or characteristics that the researcher cannot directly measure because their effects cannot be easily separated from those of other variables, even though they may influence the relation between the independent and the dependent variable’ (Cresswell, 2011: 119). |