IMPORTANT TERMS
RSCH
7100
Educational Research
Objectives
Differentiate
between concept
and construct.
Distinguish between types of
variables:
• categorical
• dependent
continuous
independent
CONCEPT
 Abstraction
from observed events
 General heading to simplify events
 Distillation of common characteristics
 Directly OBSERVABLE
CONCEPT EXAMPLES
 tree
dog
chair
 G. P. A.
quiz grade
 IQ score
GRE test score
 a test score
# of words spoken
 operational definition
 level of hearing threshold
CONSTRUCT
 Used
to summarize observations
 Provides explanations
 Higher level abstractions
 Combines concepts
 Accounts for observed regularities
and relationships
CONSTRUCT EXAMPLES
 motivation
 intelligence
 extroversion
 justice
listening vocabulary
reading readiness
scholastic aptitude
anxiety
WHICH ARE WHICH?
 Score
on the Georgia exit exam
 CONCEPT
 Anxiety
 CONSTRUCT
 golf ball
 CONCEPT
WHICH ARE WHICH?
#
of correct answers on a quiz
 CONCEPT
 School readiness
 CONSTRUCT
 Computer literacy
 CONSTRUCT
VARIABLES
defined
as a factor--thing that
varies
characteristic or condition that
changes or has different values
for different individuals
CATEGORICAL VARIABLE
 Attribute
used when participants are
classified by sorting them into groups
 Consists of separate indivisible
categories
 no values can exist between two
neighboring categories
Examples of Categorical
Variables
 home
language--English, Spanish,
French, Italian, Russian, Cajun
 ethnicity--Caucasian, AfricanAmerican, Asian-American, NativeAmerican
DICHOTOMOUS VARIABLE
A
categorical variable when ONLY
two groups are used
 Examples
 Gender
Male--Female
 Awake
Yes--No
 Course Grade
Pass--Fail
 Residence
Citizen--Alien
CONTINUOUS VARIABLE
 Infinite
number of values within a
range
 Divisible into an infinite number of
fractional parts
Examples of Continuous
Variables
 IQ
scores
 age
 Anxiety levels
 GRE scores
height
weight
IOWA test scores
quiz scores
WHICH ARE WHICH?
 age
broken down into groups of 1115, 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, and 30-34
 CATEGORICAL
 Iowa Tests of Basic Skills test scores
 CONTINUOUS
 American or Foreigner
 DICHOTOMOUS
WHICH ARE WHICH?
 Income
 CONTINUOUS
 Income:
below $5, between $6 - $10,
between $11 - $15, and $16 - $20 hour
 CATEGORICAL
 Income: Yes No
 DICHOTOMOUS
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 Object
of study
 Depends on/varies with independent
variable
 Observed for changes to assess the
effect of the treatment
 What is being MEASURED
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 LAST
variable cited
 Academic achievement or learning
 Abbreviated as DV
DV EXAMPLES
 What
is the effect of parental status on
SELF-CONCEPT among teenagers?
 What is the effect of exercise on
WEIGHT LOSS among senior citizens?
 Is there a significant difference between
boys and girls in MATH ACHIEVEMENT
at the middle school level?
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
 Manipulated/changed
by the
experimenter
 We study its effects
 Causative agent
 Occurs antecedent to the dependent
variable
 Experimental treatment
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
 FIRST
variable cited
 Predictions made FROM independent
TO dependent variable
 Abbreviated as IV
IV EXAMPLES
 What
is the effect of PARENTAL STATUS
on self-concept among teenagers?
 What is the effect of EXERCISE on weight
loss among senior citizens?
 Is there a significant difference between
BOYS and GIRLS in math achievement at
the middle school level?
TYPES OF IVS
 ACTIVE
 directly
manipulated by researcher
prior to data collection
 look for its effects on the DV
 it acts on and causes changes in DV
 people can be placed in any of its
levels
Examples of Active IV
 method
of teaching (i.e., computerbased instruction, traditional
instruction, cooperative groups)
 method of grouping (homogeneous,
heterogeneous, mixed-age, mixedgrade, same-grade)
 exercise method (none, aerobic, abs)
TYPES OF IVS
 ATTRIBUTE
 an
IV that cannot be manipulated
 Characteristics that cannot be
changed at will
 people can be placed in only one
level--the one they are already in
 an IV used as a descriptor of study
(i.e., all in study same on that IV)
Examples of Attribute IV
 Age
 Ethnicity
 Marital
Status
 Geographic Location
 Hearing Loss
sex
social class
WHICH IS WHICH IV?
 Amount
of alcohol consumed
 ACTIVE
 Socioeconomic status
 ATTRIBUTE---researcher cannot
make someone low SES one day and
high SES next day
 Degree of vision loss
 ATTRIBUTE
WHICH IS WHICH IV?
 Computer
vs traditional instruction
 ACTIVE
 Blonde vs red haired males
 ATTRIBUTE
 Four different levels of exercise
 ACTIVE
TO BE REMEMBERED
 Whether
an IV that is normally active
is active depends on use in
particular study.
 If all persons in study are same in
regard to an active IV (e.g., same
method of instruction), then that
active IV is an attribute variable in
that study.
ACTIVE--ATTRIBUTE
VARIABLE
All
of sample exercise 10 minutes
daily
• ATTRIBUTE
All
of sample have imbibed 10
ounces of alcohol
• ATTRIBUTE
WHICH IS WHICH?
 What
is the effect of anger on
aggressiveness?
 IV is
DV is
 anger
aggressiveness
 Anger--active or attribute IV?
 ACTIVE
WHICH IS WHICH?
 What
is the effect of sleep deprivation
on final exam grades among college
students?
 IV is
DV is
 sleep deprivation
exam grades
 Sleep deprivation-active or attribute IV?
 ACTIVE
WHICH IS WHICH?
 What
is the effect of gender and age
on memory skills of preschool
children?
 IV is
DV is
 gender/age
memory skills
 Gender and age-active or attribute
IVs?
 ATTRIBUTE
Yes,
We
are
DONE!!