Research Methodology: ZZ6002E

Dr. Nishant Mukund Pawar

Assistant Professor
Transportation
Engineering
Civil Engineering
 Concepts
Concepts are abstract ideas that are the subject of study
These are general ideas that can be theoretical frameworks, models, or
methodological approaches
Concepts are general or abstract ideas that express the social and/or
economic phenomena to be studied
They are the subjects of inquiry and analysis that are of interest to users
 Variables
An image, perception or concept that is capable of measurement – hence
capable of taking on different values – is called a variable
A variable can be a characteristic, number, or quantity that can be
measured or counted, and that can change value over time or between
data units
In other words, a concept that can be measured is called a variable
According to Kerlinger (1986: 27), ‘A variable is a property that takes on
different values. Putting it redundantly, a variable is something that varies
… A variable is a symbol to which numerals or values are attached’.
Black and Champion (1976: 34) define a variable as ‘rational units of
analysis that can assume any one of a number of designated sets of
values’.
 Difference between a concept and a variable
• Measurability is the main difference between a concept and a variable.
• Concepts are mental images or perceptions and therefore their meanings
vary markedly from individual to individual, whereas variables are
measurable, though, of course, with varying degrees of accuracy.
• A concept cannot be measured whereas a variable can be subjected to
measurement by crude/refined or subjective/objective units of measurement.
• Concepts are subjective impressions which, if measured as such would
cause problems in comparing responses obtained from different
respondents.
• It is therefore important for the concepts to be converted into variables (either
directly or through a set of indicators) as they can be subjected to
measurement, even though the degree of precision with which they can be
measured markedly varies from one measurement scale to another (nominal,
ordinal, interval and ratio).
Difference between a concept and a variable
 Converting concepts into variables
• If you are using a concept in your study, you need to consider its
operationalisation – that is, how it will be measured.
• In most cases, to operationalise a concept you first need to go through
the process of identifying indicators – a set of criteria reflective of the
concept – which can then be converted into variables.
• The choice of indicators for a concept might vary with the researcher but
those selected must have a logical link with the concept.
• Some concepts, such as ‘rich’ (in terms of wealth), can easily be
converted into indicators and then variables.
• For example, to decide objectively if a person is ‘rich’, one first needs to
decide upon the indicators of wealth.
• Assume that we decide upon income and assets as the indicators.
 Converting concepts into variables
• Income is also a variable since it can be measured in dollars; therefore, you
do not need to convert this into a variable.
• Although the assets owned by an individual are indicators of his/her
‘richness’, they still belong to the category of concepts.
• You need to look further at the indicators of assets.
• For example, house, boat, car and investments are indicators of assets.
• Converting the value of each one into dollars will give the total value of the
assets owned by a person.
• Next, fix a level, based upon available information on income distribution and
an average level of assets owned by members of a community, which acts as
the basis for classification.
• Then analyse the information on income and the total value of the assets to
make a decision about whether the person should be classified as ‘rich’.
Types of variables
 From the viewpoint of causal relationship
In studies that attempt to investigate a causal relationship or association, four sets of
variables may operate
1. change variables, which are responsible for bringing about change in a
phenomenon, situation or circumstance;
2. outcome variables, which are the effects, impacts or consequences of a change
variable;
3. variables which affect or influence the link between cause-and-effect variables,
but are not investigated in the study;
4. connecting or linking variables, which in certain situations are necessary to
complete the relationship between cause-and-effect variables.
In research terminology, change variables are called independent variables,
outcome/effect variables are called dependent variables, the unmeasured variables
affecting the cause-and-effect relationship are called extraneous variables and the
variables that link a cause-and-effect relationship are called intervening or mediating
variables.
From the viewpoint of causal relationship
From the viewpoint of causal relationship
From the viewpoint of causal relationship
 From the viewpoint of the study design
In controlled experiments the independent (cause) variable may be
introduced or manipulated either by the researcher or by someone else
who is providing the service.
In these situations there are two sets of variables:
• Active variables – those variables that can be manipulated, changed or
controlled.
• Attribute variables – those variables that cannot be manipulated,
changed or controlled, and that reflect the characteristics of the study
population, for example age, gender, education and income.
From the viewpoint of the study design
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement, there are two ways of
categorising variables:
• whether the unit of measurement is categorical (as in nominal and
ordinal scales) or continuous in nature (as in interval and ratio scales);
• whether it is qualitative (as in nominal and ordinal scales) or quantitative
in nature (as in interval and ratio scales).
On the whole there is very little difference between categorical and
qualitative, and between continuous and quantitative, variables.
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement
Categorical variables are measured on nominal or ordinal measurement
scales, whereas for continuous variables the measurements are made on
either an interval or a ratio scale.
There are three types of categorical variables:
1. constant variable – has only one category or value, for example taxi,
tree and water;
2. dichotomous variable – has only two categories, as in male/female,
yes/no, good/bad, head/tail, up/down and rich/poor;
3. polytomous variable – can be divided into more than two categories,
for example religion (Christian, Muslim, Hindu); political parties (Labor,
Liberal, Democrat); and attitudes (strongly favourable, favourable,
uncertain, unfavourable, strongly unfavourable).
From the viewpoint of the unit of measurement
• In many ways qualitative variables are similar to categorical variables as both
use either nominal or ordinal measurement scales.
• However, there are some differences.
• For example, it is possible to develop categories on the basis of
measurements made on a continuous scale, such as measuring the income
of a population in dollars and cents and then developing categories such as
‘low’, ‘middle’ and ‘high’ income.
• The measurement of income in dollars and cents is classified as the
measurement of a continuous variable, whereas its subjective measurement
in categories such as ‘low’, ‘middle’ and ‘high’ groups is a qualitative variable.
• Although this distinction exists, for most practical purposes there is no real
difference between categorical and qualitative variables or between
continuous and quantitative variables.
 Types of Data
Cross-sectional data
Longitudinal data
Time-series data
Panel data

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Cross-sectional data
Types of Data
• Cross-sectional data refer to observations of many different individuals (subjects,
objects) at a given time, each observation belonging to a different individual
• Data collected on many variables of interest at the same time or duration of time (single
point of time)
• A simple example of cross-sectional data is the gross annual income for each of 1000
randomly chosen households in Mumbai city for the year 2022

https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/cross-sectional-data-analysis/
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 Types of Data
Longitudinal data
• Longitudinal data is data that is collected sequentially from the same respondents over
time
• This type of data can be very important in tracking trends and changes over time by
asking the same respondents questions in several waves carried out of time

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/cross-sectional-study/

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 Types of Data
Time-series data
• Data collected for a single variable over several time intervals at constant frequency
• Time series is a sequence of information collected at discrete and equally spaced
intervals of time
• Example: historical data of monthly stock returns, humidity, accidents, etc.

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 Types of Data
Panel data
• Panel data is a collection of quantities obtained across multiple individuals, that are
assembled over even intervals in time and ordered chronologically
• Combination of cross-sectional data and time series data
• Examples of individual groups include individual people, countries, and companies

https://shorturl.at/knJMY

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 Data Classification
Data is classified into
 Non-Metric – Qualitative
 Metric – Quantitative

• Qualitative data is descriptive in nature, expressed in terms of language rather than

numerical values
• Qualitative research focuses on the qualities of users and answers "why?" or "how?"
questions
• Quantitative data refers to any information that can be quantified, counted or
measured, and given a numerical value
• Quantitative research is based on numeric data and quantitative variables tell you "how
many," "how much," or "how often"
• It's hard to conduct a successful data analysis without qualitative and quantitative data.
• They20/12/2024
both have their advantages andNIT
disadvantages
Calicut TTDAM 2023 and often complement each other.
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 Qualitative v/s Quantitative data examples
Quantitative data Qualitative data
• Age • Gender
• Weight • Religion
• Height • Qualifications
• Income • Native language
• Speed • Marital status
• Steering angle • Driving profession
• Petrol sales • Accident history

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 Scale of Measurement
 Scale: Scales of measurement refer to ways in which variables/numbers are defined
and categorized. Each scale of measurement has certain properties which in turn
determines the appropriateness for use of certain statistical analyses

https://studyonline.unsw.edu.au/blog/types-of-data

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 Properties of Measurement
Identity: Identity refers to each value having a unique meaning

Magnitude: Magnitude means that the values have an ordered relationship to one
another, so there is a specific order to the variables

Equal intervals: Equal intervals mean that data points along the scale are equal, so the
difference between data points one and two will be the same as the difference between
data points five and six

A minimum value of zero: A minimum value of zero means the scale has a true zero
point

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 Nominal Scale
Nominal scale: allows the researcher to assign subjects to certain categories or groups
• Numbers assigned have no quantitative meaning
• Also called categorical scales – tabulate the number of occurrences in each class
Example: What is your department?
1. Marketing 2. Maintenance 3. Finance
4. Production 5. Servicing 6. Personnel
What is your gender?
O Male
O Female
• Note that every respondent has to fit into one of the above categories and that the scale
will allow computation of the numbers and percentages of respondents that fit into them

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 Ordinal Scale
Ordinal scale: not only categorizes variables in such a way as to denote
differences among various categories, it also rank-orders categories in some
meaningful way
• Variables are ordered or ranked in relation to the amount of attribute possessed
• Every object can be compared with another in terms of ‘greater than’ or ‘lesser
than’ relationship
• Only indicate relative position in an ordered series
• Do not measure the actual amount or magnitude in absolute terms, only the order
of the values
• No arithmetic operations can be performed
Example: Rank your comfortable mode of transportation for short distance?
Personal vehicle
Auto-rickshaw
Bus
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 Interval Scale
Interval scale: is a quantitative measurement scale where there is order, the difference
between the two variables is meaningful and equal, and the presence of zero is arbitrary
• Have constant units of measurement, so differences between any two adjacent points on
any part of the scale are equal
• Not possible to say that any value on an interval scale is a multiple of any other point on
the scale
• Example: temperature (Celcius), SAT score (200-800), credit score (300-850)

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 Interval Scale Cont’d
• An interval scale is different from a nominal scale, which is made up of responses that
don’t have exact or relative values
Example: A meal from a menu
oNominal scale
oInterval scale

Example: Rate your meal on a scale of one to ten

oNominal scale
oInterval scale

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 Ratio Scale
Ratio scale: overcomes the disadvantage of the arbitrary origin point of the interval
scale, in that it has an absolute zero point, which is a meaningful measurement point
• A ratio variable, has all the properties of an interval variable, and also has a clear
definition of zero
• When the variable equals 0.0, there is none of that variable
• The ratio scale is the most powerful of the four scales because it has a unique zero origin
(not an arbitrary origin)

Examples

1. How much time do you exercise in a day?

2. What is the amount of calories you consume every day?

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 Difference Between the Scales

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 Properties of the Four Scales

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