Thinking like a Researcher:

Understanding Concepts, Constructs,

Variables, and Definitions
 Thinking Like a Researcher
• Conducting good research requires

i. retraining your brain to think like a researcher

ii. visualizing the abstract from actual
observations,
iii. “connecting the dots” mentally to identify
hidden concepts and patterns, and
iv. synthesizing those patterns into generalizable
laws and theories that apply to other contexts
beyond the domain of the initial observations.
• Research involves:
• constantly moving back and forth
– from an empirical framework where observations are
conducted
– to a theoretical framework where these observations are
abstracted into generalizable laws and theories.
• Developing skill that takes many years to build up
• Some of the mental abstractions needed to think like
a researcher include
– unit of analysis/observation
– constructs
– concepts and
– variables.
 Unit of Analysis/Observation

• A unit of analysis is the entity that you wish to

say something about at the end of your study, and
it is considered the focus of your study.

• A unit of observation is the item (or items) that

you observe, measure, or collect while trying to
learn something about your unit of analysis.
• the unit of observation may be the same as the
unit of analysis

– For example, a study on electronic gadget

addiction may interview undergraduate students
(our unit of observation) for the purpose of saying
something about undergraduate students (our unit
of analysis) and their gadget addiction.
• In some cases units of analysis are not the same
as units of observation
• For Example: if we were investigating gadget
addiction in elementary school children (our unit
of analysis), we might collect observations from
teachers and parents (our units of observation)
because younger children may not report their
behavior accurately.
• However, researchers are required to clearly
define their units of analysis and units of
observation to themselves and their audiences.
•
• Unit of analysis is determined by the RQs
• Unit of observation is determined by the
method of data collection
• In previous example
• Unit of Analysis ‘Gadgets’ addiction’
– raises many R Qs (factors, reasons, effects,
impacts etc)
• Unit of Observation looks at
– how those questions might be answered and
– with what kinds of data
• This leads us to a variety of units of
observation.
• Typical unit of analysis include
– individuals,
– groups,
– organizations
• For instance,
If we want to study characteristics of street
gangs, the unit of analysis is the group.
• Understanding the units of analysis can
sometimes be fairly complex.
• For instance, if we wish to study why certain
neighborhoods have high crime rates?
• our unit of analysis is the neighborhood, and
not crimes or criminals committing such
crimes.
• This is because the object of our inquiry is the
neighborhood and not criminals.
• However, if we wish to compare different
types of crimes in different neighborhoods,
such as homicide, robbery, assault, etc our unit
of analysis becomes the crime .
• If we wish to study why criminals engage in
illegal activities, then the unit of analysis
becomes the individual (i.e., the criminal).
 Unit of Data Unit of Statement of findings
Research Analysis collection observation
Question

New Media majors, men, and

Which students
students with high
are most likely to Survey of
socioeconomic status are all
be addicted to Individuals students Individuals
more likely than other
their electronic on campus
students to become addicted
gadgets?
to their electronic gadgets.

Campuses without strong

How do different computer science programs
colleges address Content Documents are more likely than those
the problem of Organizations analysis of with such programs to expel
electronic gadget policies students who have been
addiction? found to have addictions to
their electronic gadgets.

Do certain types Clubs with a scholarly focus,

of social clubs such as social work club and
have more Survey of Individuals the math club, have more
gadget-addicted Groups students gadget-addicted members
members than on campus than clubs with a social focus,
other sorts of such as the reading club or
clubs? knitting club.
 Concepts
• Researchers generate concepts
– by generalizing from particular facts
– by learning from their own experiences
• Concepts can be based on
– real phenomena
– generalized idea of something
• Examples of concepts include
– common demographic measures,
– Income,
– Age,
– Education Level,
– Number of Siblings.
• We can measure concepts through direct and
indirect observations:
1. Direct Observation: We can measure
someone's weight or height. And, we can
record the color of their hair or eyes.
2. Indirect Observation: We can use a
questionnaire in which respondents provide
answers to our questions about gender,
income, age, attitudes, and behaviors.
 Construct
• Constructs are measured with multiple variables.
• Constructs exist at a higher level of
abstraction than concepts.
• Justice, Beauty, Happiness, and Health are all
constructs.
• They are considered latent variable because they
cannot be directly observable or measured
• Constructs are the basis of working hypotheses.
 Construct
• A construct may be
1. a simple concept, such as a person’s weight
2. or a combination of a set of related concepts
such as a person’s communication skill,
which may consist of several underlying
concepts such as the person’s vocabulary,
syntax , and spelling
• The former instance (weight) is a one-dimensional
construct, while
• the latter (communication skill) is a multi-
dimensional construct (i.e., it consists of multiple
underlying concepts). The distinction between
constructs and concepts are clearer in multi-
dimensional constructs, where the higher order
abstraction is called a construct and the lower order
abstractions are called concepts..
• Constructs used for scientific research must have
precise and clear definitions that others can use to
understand exactly what it means and what it does
not mean.
 What is Variable?
• A variable is a concept or abstract idea that can be
described in measurable terms.
• In research, this term refers to the measurable
characteristics, qualities, traits, or attributes of a
particular individual, object, or situation being
studied.
 Anything that can vary can be considered a variable.
For instance, age can be considered a variable
because age can take different values for different
people or for the same person at different times.
Similarly, Income can be considered a variable
because a person's Income can be assigned a value.
 Definitions of Variable
 A variable is defined as anything that has a
quantity or quality that varies.
 Variables can be defined as any aspect of a
theory that can vary or change as part of the
interaction within the theory. In other words,
variables are anything can effect or change the
results of a study. Every study has variables as
these are needed in order to understand
differences.
 Variables are those simplified portions of the
complex phenomena that you intend to study.
 The word variable is derived from the root
word “vary”, meaning, changing in amount,
volume, number, form, nature or type. These
variables should be measurable, i.e., they can
be counted or subjected to a scale.
 A variable is not only something that we
measure, but also something that we can
manipulate and something we can control for.
 Types of Variables
Dependent and Independent Variables
 An independent variable is what is given (e.g.
age, sex, social class, geographical location,
occupation). In other words an independent
variable is the “input”.
 A dependent variable is what results from the
set of independent variables (e.g. develoment of
language skills: reading, writing, listening,
speaking). In other words a dependent variable is
the “output”.
Example
Imagine that a tutor asks 100 students to complete a maths
test. The tutor wants to know why some students perform
better than others. Whilst the tutor does not know the
answer to this, she thinks that it might be because of two
reasons: (1) some students spend more time revising for
their test; and (2) some students are naturally more
intelligent than others. As such, the tutor decides to
investigate the effect of revision time and intelligence on
the test performance of the 100 students. What are the
dependent and independent variables for the study ?
Solution
 Dependent Variable: Test Mark (measured from 0 to 100)
 Independent Variables: Revision time (measured in hours)
Intelligence (measured using IQ score)
 Moderator Variable
 It is a special type of independent variable.
The independent variable’s relationship with
the dependent variable may change under
different conditions. That condition is the
moderator variable.
 That factor which is measured, manipulated,
or selected by the experimenter to discover
whether it modifies the relationship of the
independent variable to an observed
phenomenon.
Example:
 A strong relationship has been observed between the
quality of library facilities (X) and the performance
of the students (Y). Although this relationship is
supposed to be true generally, it is nevertheless
dependent on the interest and preference of the
students. It means that only those students who have
the interest and inclination to use the library will
show improved performance in their studies.
 In this relationship interest and inclination is
moderating variable i.e. which moderates the
strength of the association between X and Y
variables.
 Quantitative and Qualitative Variables
 Quantitative variables are ones that exist along a
continuum that runs from low to high. Interval,
and ratio variables are quantitative.
 Quantitative variables are sometimes called
continuous variables because they have a variety
(continuum) of characteristics.
 Height in inches and scores on a test would be
examples of quantitative variables.
 Quantitative and Qualitative Variables
 Qualitative variables do not express differences in
amount, only differences.
 They are sometimes referred to as categorical
variables because they classify by categories.
Ordinal, Nominal variables are qualitative
 Nominal variables such as gender, religion, or eye
color are categorical variables. Generally
speaking, categorical variables
Levels of Measurement | Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and Ratio

• Levels of measurement, also called scales of measurement, tell

you how precisely variables are recorded.

• There are 4 levels of measurement:

1. Nominal: the data can only be categorized

2. Ordinal: the data can be categorized and ranked
3. Interval: the data can be categorized, ranked, and evenly spaced
4. Ratio: the data can be categorized, ranked, evenly spaced, and
has a natural zero.
 Nominal Scale
 Nominal data is the least precise and complex
level.
 The word nominal means “in name,” so this
kind of data can only be labeled.
 It does not have a rank order, equal spacing
between values, or a true zero value.
 Ordinal Scale
• Ordinal data is classified into categories within a
variable that have a natural rank order. However,
the distances between the categories are uneven or
unknown.
• For example, the variable “frequency of physical
exercise” can be categorized into the following:
1. Never
2. Rarely
3. Sometimes
4. Often
5. Always
 Ordinal scales are typically measures of non-
numeric concepts like satisfaction, happiness,
discomfort, etc.

 “Ordinal” is easy to remember because is sounds

like “order” and that’s the key to remember with
“ordinal scales”–it is the order that matters.
variables Ordinal values

Language ability 1) Beginner

2) Intermediate
3) Fluent

Income level 1) Lower-level income

2) Middle-level income
3) Upper-level income
 Interval Scale
 Interval Scale is defined as a numerical scale
where the order of the variables is known as well
as the difference between these variables.
 Variables which have familiar, constant and
computable differences are classified using the
Interval scale.
 Interval scale contains all the properties of
ordinal scale, in addition to which, it offers a
calculation of the difference between variables.
The main characteristic of this scale is the central
difference between objects.
• There is a clear order to these categories, but
we cannot say that the difference between
“never” and “rarely” is exactly the same as
that between “sometimes” and “often”.
• Therefore, this scale is ordinal.

 Likert scale is the most-used interval scale

examples.
 Ratio Scale
 Ratio Scale is defined as a variable measurement
scale that not only produces the order of
variables but also makes the difference between
variables known along with information on the
value of true zero.
 It is calculated by assuming that the variables
have an option for zero, the difference between
the two variables is the same and there is a
specific order between the options.
• In addition to the fact that the ratio scale does
everything that a nominal, ordinal and interval scale
can do, it can also establish the value of absolute zero.
Examples
The following questions fall under the Ratio Scale
category:
 What is your daughter’s current height?
– Less than 5 feet.
– 5 feet 1 inch
– 5 feet 5 inches
– 5 feet 6 inches- 6 feet
– More than 6 feet
 What is your weight in kilograms?
– Less than 50 kilograms
– 51- 70 kilograms
– 71- 90 kilograms
– 91-110 kilograms
– More than 110 kilograms
 Extraneous Variable
 It happens sometimes that after completion of the
study we wonder that the actual result is not what
we expected. In spite of taking all the possible
measures the outcome is unexpected. It is because
of extraneous variables
 Variables that may affect research outcomes but
have not been adequately considered in the study
are termed as extraneous variables. Extraneous
variables exist in all studies and can affect the
measurement of study variables and the
relationship among these variables.
Research question Extraneous variables
Is memory capacity related to test 1. Test-taking time of day
performance? 2. Test anxiety
3. Level of stress

Does sleep deprivation affect driving 1. Road conditions

ability? 2. Years of driving experience
3. Noise

Does light exposure improve learning 1. Type of mouse

ability in mice? 2. Genetic background
3. Learning environment
 Control Variable
 Sometimes certain characteristics of the objects under
scrutiny are deliberately left unchanged. These are
known as constant or controlled variables.

 The variables that are not measured in a particular

study must be held constant, neutralized/balanced, or
eliminated, so they will not have a biasing effect on
the other variables.
 Examples of control or constant variable

• Duration of the experiment.

• Size and composition of containers.
• Temperature.
• Humidity.
• Sample volume.
• Pressure.
• Experimental technique.
• Chemical purity or manufacturer.
 Conclusion
 Each person/thing we collect data on is called an
observation (in our research work these are
usually people/subjects).
 Observation (participants) possess a variety of
characteristics.
 If a characteristic of an observation (participant)
is the same for every member of the group i.e. it
does not vary, it is called a constant
 Conclusion
 If a characteristic of an observation (participant)
differs for group members it is called a variable.
 A term frequently associated with, and
sometimes used interchangeably with, a
construct is a variable. Etymologically speaking,
a variable is a quantity that can vary (e.g., from
low to high, negative to positive, etc.).
 Depending on their intended use, variables may
be classified as independent, dependent,
moderating, mediating, or control variables.