Which of the following variables will he likely exclude in his study?
A. Competence of nurses
B. Caring attitude of nurses
C. Salary of nurses
D. Responsiveness of staff
Correct Answer: C. Salary of nurses
The salary of staff nurses is not an indicator of patient satisfaction, hence need not be included as a variable in the study. A variable in research simply refers to a person, place, thing, or phenomenon that the researcher is trying to measure in some way. The best way to understand the difference between a dependent and independent variable is that the meaning of each is implied by what the words tell us about the variable the researcher is using.
Option A: The competence of nurses can affect the patient’s satisfaction rate, therefore it is an independent variable. The variable that is stable and unaffected by the other variables the researcher is trying to measure. It refers to the condition of an experiment that is systematically manipulated by the investigator. It is the presumed cause.
Option B: The caring attitude of the nurses can affect the patient’s satisfaction rate, therefore it is an independent variable. An important distinction has to do with the term ‘variable’ is the distinction between an independent and dependent variable. This distinction is particularly relevant when the researcher is investigating cause-effect relationships.
Option D: The responsiveness of the staff can affect the patient’s satisfaction rate, therefore it is an independent variable. Anything that can vary can be considered a variable. For instance, age can be considered a variable because age can take different values for different people or for the same person at different times.