Research studies involve the use of variables to examine the relationship between observed phenomena. A variable in research is something about the population that is bound to vary (Neuman, 2002). The correlation and causality amongst the variables are used to draw conclusions about the phenomena being observed. Statistical analysis is used to draw such conclusions and thereafter to forecast future events. In research variables are categorized in various ways and used differently depending on the research design adopted (Neuman, 2002). For example, variables can be descriptive or explanatory variables.
According to (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015) descriptive variables are mainly used in descriptive research designs. A study on the capital crimes committed in the City of Walden can adopt a descriptive research design. Therefore, descriptive variables will be used. Appropriate variables would be, for example, the hair color and or the race of capital criminals in the city. The hair color could be either blond, brunette or red-head. On the other hand, race could be white American, black-American or any other racial group in the city.
Unlike, descriptive variables, explanatory variables are…show more content… For instance, as (Taylor et al, 2015) asserts, descriptive variables are either ordinal or nominal levels of measurement while explanatory variables are ratios. Considering the study above in the City of Walden, hair color takes categorical numbers or names as identifiers. Numbers such as 1 to represent blond, 2 to represent brunette and 3 to represent red-head can be used. The names blond, brunette and redhead can also be used. Therefore, hair color qualifies as both nominal and ordinal measures. On the contrary, explanatory variables take an absolute zero and can therefore be termed as ratios (Taylor et al, 2015). They assume quantities which take equal units and which can be expressed
