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Republic of the Philippines

SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY


COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Catbalogan City, Samar
Telephone Nos. (055)-543-8394 / (055) 251-2139
Website: www.ssu.edu.ph

COURSE : Master in Public Management (MPM)


SUBJECT : ED 501 Methods of Research
PROFESSOR : DR. JOSE S. LABRO
TERM : 1st Semester SY 2017-2018
REPORTER : MARY JANE A. ACEDILLO
TOPIC : Multivariate Research Design

Most research studies only have one dependent variable. But what if a researcher wants to study
more than one dependent variable? In this lesson, we'll look at multivariate research designs

Mandy is a psychologist. She's interested in how gender affects people's experiences in math
class. Do girls get better grades than boys? Do they enjoy the class better than boys? Mandy believes
gender plays a role in the outcome of a high school math class. In order to test her hypothesis that girls get
better grades and enjoy the class better than boys, Mandy needs to design a research study.

I. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

In this type of research design is often uses in natural science but it is different in social sciences.
Human behaviour cannot be measured through test-tubes and microscopes. The social researcher use a
method of experiment in that type of research design. One group is subjected to experiment called
independent variables while other is considered as control group called dependent variable. The result
obtained by the comparison of both the two groups. Both have the cause and effect relationship between
each other.

Experimental design is the process whereby a researcher makes decisions about how to answer
their research questions. For example, should Mandy choose between grades and enjoyment, or study
them both? How should she measure her variables? These are questions that Mandy will answer in the
experimental design portion of the research process. Let's look closer at the types of variables and one
particular type of experimental design: multivariate design.

II. VARIABLES

Before we get into multivariate design, it's important to understand the difference in independent
and dependent variables. Independent variables are variables that do not depend on other variables to
change. They are independent of the other variables in the study, and that's where they get their name
from. For example, in Mandy's study, her independent variable is gender. A person won't change gender
because they did well in a math class. That would be crazy!

But a dependent variable changes value depending on what other variables do. Their values are
dependent upon the independent variables. For example, a girl might do better in the math class than a
boy does. The variable of grade is dependent on gender for its value.

In Mandy's case, her independent variable of gender is what it is. There's nothing that Mandy can
do to change that. But sometimes, researchers manipulate the independent variable to see what happens to
the dependent variable. For example, what if Mandy had some students take the math class in a noisy
room that faced the street and others take it in a quiet room that faced the courtyard? In that case, Mandy
is manipulating her independent variable (level of noise) to see if it affects her dependent variable
(outcome of the course).

III. MULTIVARIATE DESIGN

So, Mandy's interested in looking at how gender affects grades and enjoyment of a math class.
She polls students at the end of the semester to see how much they liked the class, and she gets their
grades from their professor. Notice that Mandy has one independent variable and two dependent
variables. This is a multivariate design, or a research study that has more than one dependent variable.
You can remember the name because 'multi' means 'many,' and 'variate' is 'something that changes,' like
the dependent variable does.

Most simple studies have only one dependent variable. A multivariate study is the only design
that includes more than one dependent variable. But that doesn't mean that all non-multivariate studies
only have one independent variable.

ADVANTAGES OF MULTIVARIATE RESEARCH DESIGN

1. The primary benefit of multivariate research design is that it gives researchers a vital tool to
examine relationships between variables and to quantify the relationships between those
variables.
Example: Researcher can study the impact of a new drug on depressed patients.

2. Researchers can introduce a variety of other variables and manipulate the association between
those variables to understand the connection between independent and dependent variables.
Example: In the above study, researchers can introduce the variable of 60-minutes of exercise.
This way they can measure the impact of exercise vs. the impact of taking the new drug.

3. Another benefit of multivariate technique is that researcher can also manipulate the conditions
under which the association takes place.
Example: For example, if the subjects exercise in the morning, does this have a greater impact on
their overall well-being as opposed to exercising in the evening.

Some people might say that there are also disadvantages to multivariate techniques in that the
process can be complex and involve high-level mathematics capabilities. However, multivariate research
design give researchers a much broader and more accurate picture than looking at just one variable.

Multivariate analytical techniques represent a variety of mathematical models used to measure


and quantify outcomes, taking into account important factors that can influence this relationship. There
are several multivariate analytical techniques that one can use to examine relationship among variables.
The most popular is multiple regression analysis which helps one understands how the typical value of
the dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other
independent variables are held fixed.

REFERENCES:

http://www.studylecturenotes.com/social-research-methodology/types-of-research-design

http://study.com/academy/lesson/multivariate-experimental-design.html?userType=STUDENT

http://study.com/academy/lesson/multivariate-experimental-design.html
QUESTIONS:
1. When to use multivariate research design?
When there are multiple dependent variables for analysis.
When they want to predict or explain outcomes between variables.
Example: If a university, wants to predict the success of their future students based on
their high school average (GWA) and SAT scores, they could create an independent
variables (High School GPA and SAT scores) and dependent variables (First Semester
College GWA and College Satisfaction Rating). In this case, we have two independent
variables (predictors) and two dependent variables (outcomes).
Now, using statistical tools the researcher can create an equation that can determine
whether good High School GWAs and good SAT scores can predict satisfaction in
college and a good first semester GWA.

2. Why use multivariate design?


It is extremely useful for researchers because it can help measure cause and effect among
variables and draw conclusions among the outcomes of those variables.
Example: In education, research scenarios involving multiple outcomes could include
examples such as how a character education program impacts student self-efficacy,
attitudes, and behaviour, or how mentoring influences reading, math, and science
performance.

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