A variable with two categories is called a binary variable. In this case the variable has only two categories a man or a woman.
An example of a categorical variable is the division between men and women. You can only be classified in one category at a time. A categorical variable consists of different categories. Variables can be categorical or continuous and can have different measurement levels. The relationship between what is measured and the numbers that express what you are measuring is called the level of measurement. Variables can be measured in various ways. 1.6.2 What is meant by a measurement level? The variable that changes due to changes in the independent variable is called the dependent variable or outcome variable. In an experimental set-up, this term is used to emphasize that the researcher has manipulated this variable. The variable that is seen as the cause of a certain effect is called the independent variable or the predictor. With most hypotheses there are two variables, namely the cause and the outcome. Variables are things that can vary, between people, between situations or over time. If people want to collect data, it is important that we ask ourselves two things: (1) what is measured and (2) how is it measured? To test the hypotheses, the variables must be measured. 1.6 In what way is data collected and measured? 1.6.1 What is the difference between a dependent and an independent variable? If the collected data contradicts the theory or hypothesis, then there is falsification. A hypothesis is an explanation for a certain phenomenon or a set of observations. You can only speak of a hypothesis when it is a statement that can be proven or rejected using scientific methods. Based on the theory a prediction can be made. This prediction based on a theory is called a hypothesis. The next step in the research process is to test a theory and to set hypotheses. Data must then be collected and it is important to set and define variables to measure what people want to investigate. By watching a certain program, one can have a observation about something that is going on in the world. For example, by watching the news on television, a research question may arise. One can find something to explain in many different ways. 1.4 How do people find something to explain? A variable is something that is measured to get an answer to the question of the researcher.įormulating a research question -> theory -> making hypotheses -> making predictions -> collecting data to test the predictions -> analyzing data. A researcher needs variables to collect this data. To see if the observation is correct, data must be collected. A researcher has a question that he or she would like to have answered. The first step is observation where something is observed that makes someone curious. The research process consists of a number of steps. 1.3 What does the research process look like? This means that one method is no better or worse than the other method. The qualitative and quantitative method are complementary to each other.
Studies that use language as the basis for their research, are using a qualitative method for doing research. When studies use data based on figures, it is called a quantitative method. In addition to numbers, other forms of data may exist. A teacher forces a student to work with numbers because these numbers are a form of data and are part of the research process. This book can become your best friend if you want to understand and use statistics to conduct data analysis in the best possible way.Why does a diabolical teacher force a student into statistics? - Chapter 1 1.2 Why is statistics important?ĭata is required to answer various questions. With the help of real research examples, the book will take students as well as teachers on a wonderful journey covering both basic principles and advanced concepts and applications of statistics. The time-tested approach and content serve students of undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This book attempts at moderating such a feeling in an interactive and humorous way. Students and practitioners of social science often look at mathematics and its allies with suspicion. The only statistics textbook you'll ever need just got even better!
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