Shehnaz Gul

RESEARCH VARIABLES

A research variable generally refers to the property of an object or event which can take on different values. It has quantity and quality that varies. A variable can be said to be the measurable attribute that changes or varies in the course of the research. For example development is a variable that cannot be directly measured but can take on values such as income, employment, schools, hospitals, roads, banks etc

Research variables can be grouped into QUALITATIVE (these are non-metric values, for example options like YES or NO) or QUANTITATIVE (metric values which take numeric value and mathematical operations can be carried out on them).

Variables can also be classified as DEPENDENT (this is the variable that the researcher is interested in; they are variables that undergo changes in the research as a result of changes in other variables; it is denoted by Y) or INDEPENDENT (these are the variables that will be worked on during the research to determine an outcome; it is denoted by X and may be more than one). An independent variable affects the dependent variable mean that the dependent variables changes in response to the independent variables.

Other categories of research variables include;
1. Random variables – a variable is random if individual outcomes cannot be predicted in advance.

2. Extraneous variables – are those variables which are not part of the research or not even considered for a research but may intrude in the results of the research. For example, in studying child health, issues on maternal health may intrude. They are also called unforeseen or confounding factors in a research. They can render the results of a research invalid.

3. Category variables – it occurs when the researcher classifies his variables into two or more classes. For example, urban and rural, male and female, Christian, Muslim and pagan etc

4. Discrete variables – theses are variables that can be measured in terms of whole numbers. For example, the number of universities in Nigeria. You cant say there are 12.5 universities, it has to be a whole number.

5. Continuous variables – they are variables that assume any value within a given interval. Here, there is a minimum and a maximum.

6. Intervening variables – they link the independent and dependent variables.

7. Moderator variables – they influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

8. Controllable variables – they are characteristics of the object under study that are left unchanged in a research.

For further enquiries, I am available.

Dear researchers,

In research, a hypothesis is an assumption that is not yet proven upon which a research is based. When proven, it can be used to draw conclusions or inferences. There are three conditions to be considered here;

• If you are conducting a quantitative research study, you will typically state your specific hypotheses that you have developed from your literature review. A hypothesis is the researcher’s prediction of the relationship that exists among the variables being investigated.

• If you wrote a research question, the hypothesis will by your tentative answer to your question. For the quantitative research question stated above (i.e., What effect does playing football have on students’ overall grade point average during the football season?) the related hypothesis might go like this: Students who play football during the football season will experience a decrease in their GPAs as compared to students not playing football.

• Unlike in quantitative research (where hypotheses are stated before collecting the data), hypotheses in qualitative research are often generated as the data are collected and as the researcher gains insight into what is being studied.

I hope this helps.

Dear Researchers,

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The research process is one that needs due diligence. How you start and end matters. This is where a picture of your research cycle comes in.

The research cycle is a series of steps that help us work through the process of researching information and drawing conclusions. It is a compass that directs your research from start to finish. You can also call it a roadmap, because it is used to describe your research from start to finish.

I hope this is useful.

A German Muslim scholar when he was asked about TERRORISM and Islam. He said. “Who started the first world war? Not Muslims!! Who started the second world war? Not Muslims!! Who killed 6 million Jews in the Holocaust ? Not Muslims. Who killed about 20 millions of Aborigines in Australia ? Not Muslims!! Who sent the nuclear bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Not Muslims!! Who killed more than 100 millions of Indians in North America? Not Muslims!! Who killed more than 50 million of Indians in south America? Not Muslims!! Who took about 180 millions of African people as slaves and 88% of them died and were thrown overboard into Atlantic ocean? Not Muslims!! No, NOT Muslims!! First of all, You will have to define terrorism properly. If a non-Muslim does something bad. It is crime. But if a Muslim commits the same. He is a Terrorist. So first remove this double standards. Then come to the point. I am proud to be a MUSLIM !! ARE YOU??

The words “leader” and “manager” are among the most commonly used and often used interchangeable. Many people including myself wonder about the differences between leadership and management. My prior concepts were so jumbled between both, are they commonly exclusive? Do authorities have both qualities? After class room discussions, I came to know that there are many people who have different understandings, they can separate both positions according to their life experiences. So it was my personal interest to find, what people think and how scholars described these phenomenons. My focus was to identify common men perceptions about leadership and management for that some short interviews were taken from different people who didn’t did any course of Leadership particularly for the assurance of pure laymen views.

Subsequently, I came to know through readings that “leadership is a multi-directional influence relation, while management is a unidirectional authority relationship” (Katz, 1955). “Leadership and management overlap, but they are not the same” (Kotterman, 2006. “Leadership is a complex, multidimensional phenomena” (DePree, 1989). “It has been defined as: a behavior; a style; a skill; a process; a responsibility; an experience; a function of management; a position of authority; an influencing relationship; a characteristic; and an ability” (Northouse, 2007). Katz defined management as exercising direction of a group or organization through executive, administrative, and supervisory positions (Katz, 1955). Katz thought that management responsibilities are usually tasked-oriented, and it involves developing staff, mentoring persons with high potential, and resolving conflicts while maintaining ethics and discipline (Katz, 1955).

Initially through conversations during interviews I felt people think that, most people can be good managers or people could become good managers but leaders are natural they put peoples interest first, set example by themselves don’t do leg pulling or take others work credit, they appreciate others and help others to grow.

Furthermore deference is actually between scopes. Leadership is with a larger scope. Giving guidance and vision is main factor of leadership while management is with define scope of managing resources effectively to achieve goals. Leadership give goals and target while management is the way to achieve those goals and target”.

One of my respondent response was “The difference between a leader and a manager is as of a mother and an elder sister in our daily household. The mother is one who leads, while when mom isn’t at home or she is not well it’s the elder sister who takes care of the things. The mother is the one whose decisions are final while the sister is the one who can only give the suggestions”.

Later, I realized after many interviews managerial duties are usually a formal part of a job description; subordinates follow as a result of the professional title or designation. A manager’s chief focus is to meet organizational goals and objectives, they typically do not take much else into consideration. Managers are held responsible for their actions, as well as for the actions of their subordinates. Leaders are followed because of their personality, behavior, and beliefs. Leaders take a great deal of interest in the success of their followers, enabling them to reach their goals to satisfaction these are not necessarily organizational goals. A leader invents or innovates while a manager organizes. The leader of the team comes up with the new ideas and kick starts the organization’s shift or transition to a forward-thinking phase. A leader always has his or her eyes set on the horizon, developing new techniques and strategies for the organization. A leader has immense knowledge of all the current trends, advancements, and skillsets and has clarity of purpose and vision.

Interviews demonstrate, that is similar to my own considerations, a manager is someone who generally only maintains what is already established. A manager needs to watch the bottom line while controlling employees and workflow in the organization and preventing any kind of chaos and upset.

I have slightly improved my understanding that people think a manager relies on control where as a leader inspires trust. A leader is a person who pushes employees to do their best and knows how to set an appropriate pace and tempo for the rest of the group. Managers, on the other hand, are required by their job description to establish control over employees which, in turn, help them develop their own assets to bring out their best. Thus, managers have to understand their subordinates well to do their job effectively.

This food for thought has paramount importance for me as a MSELM student and I need to understand carefully that, with the title comes the authority and the privilege to promote, hire, fire, discipline, or reward employees based on their performance and behavior. According to Kotter “Leadership is different from management, but not for the reason most people think. Leadership isn’t mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to do with having charisma or other exotic personality traits. It’s not the province of a chosen few. Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it: rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment (Kotter, 1990).” In addition, organizations need managers to maintain a smoothly functioning workplace, and to utilize resources effectively. “Finally, a well-balanced organization should have a mix of leaders and managers to succeed” (Kotterman, 2006).

As a next step I need to explore that people practically act according to their understandings and do mangers are those who become future leaders.   

References

DePree, M. (1989). Leadership is an art. New York: Dell Publishing.

Katz, R. L. (1955). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review.

Kotter, J. P. (1990a). What leaders really do? Harvard Business Review.

Kotterman, J., (2006), “Leadership vs Management: What’s the difference?” Journal for Quality & Participation, Vol. 29 Issue 2.

Northouse, P. (2007). Leadership theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications