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Baho Ilok
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Is the object of an experiment a variable?
Usually not, since an object is normally not changed. One or more attributes of an object are the subject of an experiment and thus a variable.Baho Ilok said:Is the object of an experiment a variable?
Baho Ilok said:Is the object of an experiment a variable?
Sometimes you have to ask stupid questions to learn they're stupid. Which I believe, in a sense, is the essence of experimental study.ZapperZ said:As an experimentalist, this question makes no sense.
Zz.
But in a way, can't the experimenter also vary the object of the experiment, making it also a variable? Like a toxicity test on zebra fish, daphnia magna, etc.fresh_42 said:Usually not, since an object is normally not changed. One or more attributes of an object are the subject of an experiment and thus a variable.
Baho Ilok said:Sometimes you have to ask stupid questions to learn they're stupid. Which I believe, in a sense, is the essence of experimental study.
The question I asked may be meaningless to you since obviously you know quite well the answer, but to us that don't it can make complete sense. Asking what lies beyond the edge of the Earth may make absolutely no sense today but thousands of years ago it could have been a million dollar question.ZapperZ said:No, it is not.
Experiments are often VERY expensive to run, to construct, and to maintain. No one will want to fund or do experiments when the questions being asked are vague, meaningless, and undefined.
Find a single experiment being done today in which the measurement being made are as vague as what you are asking.
Zz.
Baho Ilok said:The question I asked may be meaningless to you since obviously you know quite well the answer, but to us that don't it can make complete sense. Asking what lies beyond the edge of the Earth may make absolutely no sense today but thousands of years ago it could have been a million dollar question.
Two basic kinds of people are in this world: The scientific people and the not-scientific people. Some of the non-scientific people has a small amount of Science education and some have none. MAYBE Baho Ilak is one of the non-scienftific people. He just wants to ask what seems like a very basic and good question, to him.ZapperZ said:You don't seem to get it.
Asking "Is the object of an experiment a variable?" is vague because it doesn't exactly state what is being measured! It is made worse when you did not provide any kind of elaboration on what exactly you mean, or what exactly you are looking for.
Any experiment requires that we make a measurement of a property of something. We don't know what "dark matter" exactly is. However, we know of several possibilities, and each of these possibilities make quantitative prediction of certain values related to how these "dark matter" interact. In other words, we know what to look for and what quantity to measure!
Now, knowing that, look again at your original question. Does it still make sense to you? What exactly does it mean that an "object" in an experiment is a "variable"? What property of that object is being measured here that makes the object itself being a "variable"?
In science, the questions that we ask can be as important as the answers that we seek. Often the question defines and frames the nature of the answers that are relevant. So it is extremely important that care and thought are given to such questions.
Zz.
symbolipoint said:Two basic kinds of people are in this world: The scientific people and the not-scientific people. Some of the non-scientific people has a small amount of Science education and some have none. MAYBE Baho Ilak is one of the non-scienftific people. He just wants to ask what seems like a very basic and good question, to him.
I would like to say, "yes", but I would prefer to say two things:Baho Ilok said:Is the object of an experiment a variable?
I don't doubt any of the things you have said so far, mainly because I assume you are an experienced researcher possibly with years of experience and what you have said made complete sense. However, what I'm getting at here is that it would have been more helpful for you to have just constructively pointed out the error(s) in my initial question or asked for some clarification to help me ask the question better instead of just saying that my question makes no sense period. I asked the question because I wanted it to make sense, not for someone to point out to me that it doesn't.ZapperZ said:You don't seem to get it.
Asking "Is the object of an experiment a variable?" is vague because it doesn't exactly state what is being measured! It is made worse when you did not provide any kind of elaboration on what exactly you mean, or what exactly you are looking for.
Any experiment requires that we make a measurement of a property of something. We don't know what "dark matter" exactly is. However, we know of several possibilities, and each of these possibilities make quantitative prediction of certain values related to how these "dark matter" interact. In other words, we know what to look for and what quantity to measure!
Now, knowing that, look again at your original question. Does it still make sense to you? What exactly does it mean that an "object" in an experiment is a "variable"? What property of that object is being measured here that makes the object itself being a "variable"?
In science, the questions that we ask can be as important as the answers that we seek. Often the question defines and frames the nature of the answers that are relevant. So it is extremely important that care and thought are given to such questions.
Zz.
Understandable. Your question was simple, on the surface, but a later post explained a little bit of difference between scientific people and non-scientific people. Maybe you can now ask a better question. Saw point #2 in the previous posting?Baho Ilok said:I don't doubt any of the things you have said so far, mainly because I assume you are an experienced researcher possibly with years of experience and what you have said made complete sense. However, what I'm getting at here is that it would have been more helpful for you to have just constructively pointed out the error(s) in my initial question or asked for some clarification to help me ask the question better instead of just saying that my question makes no sense period. I asked the question because I wanted it to make sense, not for someone to point out to me that it doesn't.
Thank you for being more understanding. It's embarrassing to admit but I do identify as one of the scientific people, however I am still new. I have much to learn and I really appreciate your constructive responses.symbolipoint said:Two basic kinds of people are in this world: The scientific people and the not-scientific people. Some of the non-scientific people has a small amount of Science education and some have none. MAYBE Baho Ilak is one of the non-scienftific people. He just wants to ask what seems like a very basic and good question, to him.
Ah I think I get it now. So if I understand correctly, objects can be considered a variable if the experiment is done to find relationships between variables?symbolipoint said:I would like to say, "yes", but I would prefer to say two things:
- Sometimes yes and sometimes no; since the experiement may either be to look for a relationship between variables, or the presence versus absense of something.
- What specific experiments you mean?
Object? Variable?Baho Ilok said:Ah I think I get it now. So if I understand correctly, objects can be considered a variable if the experiment is done to find relationships between variables?
Oh I'm sorry, I don't understand quite well the definitions. In my current understanding, a variable is anything that can vary, controllable or not. So if in an experiment, the objective is to measure responses of different organisms to being exposed to a certain compound, the organisms (which I believe are considered the objects?) can be thought of as a variable. Or is it not?symbolipoint said:Object? Variable?
A variable is a number, often but not always, a changeable number.
No.Baho Ilok said:Oh I'm sorry, I don't understand quite well the definitions. In my current understanding, a variable is anything that can vary, controllable or not. So if in an experiment, the objective is to measure responses of different organisms to being exposed to a certain compound, the organisms (which I believe are considered the objects?) can be thought of as a variable. Or is it not?
Just my opinion but Different Location is a different case, and I would not call this as a variable.Baho Ilok said:Okay.
We have 6 target surface water sites. We measured several water quality parameters at different months and the relative abundances of an emerging contaminant (X) to try and understand how water quality can affect its proliferation. So our tabulation of the data, one column is the site, one is the month, and the rest are for the values of each water quality parameter and the abundance of X.
I just wanted to be able to know if we can consider location as an independent variable since they were selected, and thus in a sense was varied. Or are they even variables?
I think I get it now. Thank you so much for your patience!symbolipoint said:Just my opinion but Different Location is a different case, and I would not call this as a variable.
No. It is the attribute that changes, not the object - in the above case "being alive". Even if we consider experiments, where the object is destroyed like in particle accelerators, we only consider the attributes as variables: energy, spin, charge. The lead atom we smashed doesn't become a variable, its attributes do. It is important to distinguish them, as it applies to many more cases. E.g. if you have to staff a project team, you don't select persons, but their attributes (qualifications). If you analyze a process, the predicate (action) is important, not the subject (who).Baho Ilok said:But in a way, can't the experimenter also vary the object of the experiment, making it also a variable? Like a toxicity test on zebra fish, daphnia magna, etc.
The object of an experiment is the specific thing or phenomenon that is being studied or tested in order to gather data and draw conclusions.
A variable in an experiment is any factor or condition that can potentially affect the outcome of the experiment. Variables can be manipulated by the researcher or they can occur naturally.
No, the object of an experiment is not always a variable. Sometimes the object is simply being observed or measured, and is not being manipulated or changed in any way during the experiment.
The variables to include in an experiment should be carefully chosen based on the research question or hypothesis being tested. They should also be relevant to the object of the experiment and have a potential impact on the outcome.
Independent variables are the variables that are manipulated by the researcher in an experiment, while dependent variables are the outcomes or results that are measured or observed. The value of the dependent variable is determined by the value of the independent variable.