All research projects are based around variables. A variable is the characteristic or attribute of an individual, group, educational system, or the environment that is of interest in a research study. Variables can be straightforward and easy to measure, such as gender, age, or course of study.haracteristics of the environment may also be variables, such as the amount of school funding or availability of computers. Therefore, once the general research topic has been identified, the researcher should identify the key variables of interest. For example, a researcher is interested in low levels of literacy.