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In the above example, winning the championship is a
dichotomous variable, as they have only two answers. While
analysing the data, we assign 0 for No and 1 for Yes.
b. Nominal Variable

Variables which can be organised in more than two categories ◆ No order
which do not follow a particular order are called nominal variables.
Nominal variables are typically measured using labels or codes.

Example: Blood type, eye colour
c. Ordinal Variable

Variables that can be organised in more than two categories that
follow a particular order are known as ordinal variables. ◆ Follows an order

Example:
Levels of satisfaction- Highly satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral,
Dissatisfied, Highly Dissatisfied
B. Based on causal relationship
On the basis of causal relationships, variables can be classified
as:

I. Dependent Variable
If one variable depends upon or is a consequence of the other
variable, it is termed as a dependent variable. Dependent variables
are those variables which change as a result of the introduction
or alteration of another variable called the independent variable. ◆ Depends on another
Dependent variable is the outcome variable, which is caused, in variable
total or in part, by the input antecedent variable. These variables
are expected to change as a result of an experimental manipulation
of the independent variable. Other names for dependent variables
are measure, response, effect, and outcome variable.

Example: In an examination, score depends upon how much
time is effectively spent by the student in his studies. If a student
spends more time studying, he will get high scores on the test
paper. Here time is the independent variable and score is the
dependent variable.
II. Independent Variable

The variable which affects the dependent variable is called the
independent variable. An independent variable is the input variable,
which causes, in part in total, a particular outcome. Independent
variables are those which are introduced, manipulated, measured,
observed or controlled by experimenters to study its effect on
dependent variables. In other words, a variable which does not
depend upon any other variable is known as an independent
variable. These variables are stable and unaffected by other

SGOU - SLM - MCom Research Methodology 87