620435986-PR-2-WEEK-1-2 /What is Research

This lesson is the second part of the Lesson one for Practical Research 2

1. Discipline Research question Independent variable Dependent variable Genetics What is the relationship between genetics and susceptibility to diseases? genetic factors susceptibility to diseases History How do historical events influence national identity? historical events national identity Political science What is the effect of political campaign advertisements on voter behavior? political campaign advertisements voter behavior Sociology How does social media influence cultural awareness? social media exposure cultural awareness Economics What is the impact of economic policies on unemployment rates? economic policies unemployment rates Literature How does literary criticism affect book sales? literary criticism book sales Geology How do a region’s geological features influence the magnitude of earthquakes? geological features earthquake magnitudes Environment How do changes in climate affect wildlife migration patterns? climate changes wildlife migration patterns Gender studies What is the effect of gender bias in the workplace on job satisfaction? gender bias job satisfaction Film studies What is the relationship between cinematographic techniques and viewer engagement? cinematographic techniques viewer engagement Archaeology How does archaeological tourism affect local communities? archaeological techniques local community development Independent vs dependent variables in research Experiments usually have at least two variables—independent and dependent. The independent variable is the entity that is being tested and the dependent variable is the result. Classifying independent and dependent variables as discrete and continuous can help in determining the type of analysis that is appropriate in any given research experiment, as shown in the table below. (7) Dependent variable Discrete Continuous Independent variable Discrete Chi-Square t-test Logistic regression ANOVA Phi Regression Cramer’s V Point-biserial correlation Continuous Logistic regression Regression Point-biserial correlation Correlation Here are some more research questions and their corresponding independent and dependent variables. (6) Research question Independent variable Dependent variable What is the impact of online learning platforms on academic performance? type of learning academic performance What is the association between exercise frequency and mental health? exercise frequency mental health How does smartphone use affect productivity? smartphone use productivity levels Does family structure influence adolescent behavior? family structure adolescent behavior What is the impact of nonverbal communication on job interviews? nonverbal communication job interviews How to identify independent vs dependent variables In addition to all the characteristics of independent and dependent variables listed previously, here are few simple steps to identify the variable types in a research question.(8) Keep in mind that there are no specific words that will always describe dependent and independent variables. If you’re given a paragraph, convert that into a question and identify specific words describing cause and effect. The word representing the cause is the independent variable and that describing the effect is the dependent variable. Let’s try out these steps with an example. A researcher wants to conduct a study to see if his new weight loss medication performs better than two bestseller alternatives. He wants to randomly select 20 subjects from Richmond, Virginia, aged 20 to 30 years and weighing above 60 pounds. Each subject will be randomly assigned to three treatment groups. To identify the independent and dependent variables, we convert this paragraph into a question, as follows: Does the new medication perform better than the alternatives? Here, the medications are the independent variable and their performances or effect on the individuals are the dependent variable. Visualizing independent vs dependent variables Data visualization is the graphical representation of information by using charts, graphs, and maps. Visualizations help in making data more understandable by making it easier to compare elements, identify trends and relationships (among variables), among other functions. Bar graphs, pie charts, and scatter plots are the best methods to graphically represent variables. While pie charts and bar graphs are suitable for depicting categorical data, scatter plots are appropriate for quantitative data. The independent variable is usually placed on the X-axis and the dependent variable on the Y-axis. Figure 1 is a scatter plot that depicts the relationship between the number of household members and their monthly grocery expenses.9 The number of household members is the independent variable and the expenses the dependent variable. The graph shows that as the number of members increases the expenditure also increases.

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