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Sociology vocabulary · Research Methods

Variable

Meaning in sociology, with examples

/ˈveəriəbl/nounCore term

In sociology, variable means: A characteristic that can take different values from case to case, such as age, income, education level or attitude, and that researchers measure and compare.

In Turkish: değişken

How it is used

Researchers distinguish the independent variable (the presumed cause) from the dependent variable (the outcome), and control for other variables that might affect the result. Variables can be categorical, such as religion, or continuous, such as income.

Example sentences

  1. In this study, education is the independent variable and voting behaviour is the dependent variable.

  2. Even after controlling for income, the neighbourhood variable still had a strong effect.

Common collocations

  • independent variable
  • dependent variable
  • control variable
  • control for a variable
  • key variables
  • hypothesisA testable statement that predicts a relationship between two or more variables, written before the data are collected and then supported or rejected by the evidence.
  • quantitative researchResearch that collects numerical data, usually from large samples, and uses statistics to measure patterns and test relationships between variables.
  • operationaliseTo turn an abstract concept, such as social class or trust, into something that can be observed and measured, for example through specific survey questions.
  • socioeconomic status (SES)A person's or family's position in society measured by a combination of income, education and occupation.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Research Methods

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