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88 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

An individual’s motivation to learn from different classes or in different work
teams might also take on differing values. Now, how one measures the level of
motivation is an entirely different matter. The factor called motivation has to be
reduced from its level of abstraction and operationalized in a way that it becomes
measurable. We will discuss this in Chapter 8.

Types of Variables
Four main types of variables are discussed in this chapter:

1. The dependent variable (also known as the criterion variable).
2. The independent variable (also known as the predictor variable).
3. The moderating variable.
4. The intervening variable.

Variables can be discrete (e.g., male/female) or continuous (e.g., the age of an
individual). Extraneous variables that confound cause-and-effect relationships are
discussed in Chapter 7 on Experimental Designs. In this chapter, we will pri-
marily concern ourselves with the four types of variables listed above.

Dependent Variable

The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The
researcher’s goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable, or to
explain its variability, or predict it. In other words, it is the main variable that
lends itself for investigation as a viable factor. Through the analysis of the depen-
dent variable (i.e., finding what variables influence it), it is possible to find
answers or solutions to the problem. For this purpose, the researcher will be
interested in quantifying and measuring the dependent variable, as well as the
other variables that influence this variable.

Example 5.4 A manager is concerned that the sales of a new product introduced after test mar-
keting it do not meet with his expectations. The dependent variable here is sales.
Since the sales of the product can vary—can be low, medium, or high—it is a
variable; since sales is the main focus of interest to the manager, it is the depen-
dent variable.

Example 5.5 A basic researcher is interested in investigating the debt-to-equity ratio of manu-
facturing companies in southern California. Here the dependent variable is the
ratio of debt to equity.

Example 5.6 A vice president is concerned that the employees are not loyal to the organiza-
tion, and in fact, seem to switch their loyalty to other institutions. The dependent
variable in this case would be organizational loyalty.
Here again, there is variance found in the levels of organizational loyalty of
employees. The V.P. might want to know what accounts for the variance in the