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Variables in Research

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Variables in Research
In research, variables are any factors in the experiment at hand, whether they are the factors being measured, the factors being changed by the researcher, or the factors which are kept constant in order to ensure consistency in at least one area of the study, which leads to increased reliability of the study (Shermerhorn 2014). These variables which are kept constant throughout the experiment are arguably the most important, but how can something which is never changed make such an impact to the results of any research.
The importance of these unchanged factors, or constant variables, stems from their ability to isolate the independent variable, or the variable which is intentionally changed by the researcher. An example of this would be in the very simple experiment of measuring the bounce of a ball when dropped from different heights. The measured variable in this experiment is the height of the bounce of the ball, the experimenter is interested to see the effect on the rebound height, due to changing the drop height. In this example, the must obvious factor in the experiment which needs to be maintained is the type of ball, if this variable were to be changed, all previous data gathered will become irrelevant, as the results would all be in reference to a different ball, whose rebound heights have no connection to that of the new ball. Therefore, it is plain to see how useful control variables can be when used properly to isolate the variable which will bring about a measured change.

References
Shermerhorn (2014). Management foundations and applications. Queensland, John Wiley& Sons.

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