What type of variable is measured to support your hypothesis?
Independent vs. Dependent Variables | Definition & Examples
In research, variables are any characteristics that can take on dissimilar values, such every bit height, age, temperature, or test scores.
Researchers often manipulate or measure independent and dependent variables in studies to exam cause-and-consequence relationships.
- The independent variable is the cause. Its value is independent of other variables in your written report.
- The dependent variable is the effect. Its value depends on changes in the contained variable.
Your contained variable is the temperature of the room. You lot vary the room temperature by making it libation for one-half the participants, and warmer for the other half.
Your dependent variable is math test scores. You measure the math skills of all participants using a standardized exam and bank check whether they differ based on room temperature.
What is an independent variable?
An independent variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. It'due south called "independent" considering it'south non influenced by any other variables in the report.
Independent variables are too called:
- Explanatory variables (they explain an event or effect)
- Predictor variables (they can be used to predict the value of a dependent variable)
- Right-mitt-side variables (they appear on the right-hand side of a regression equation).
These terms are especially used in statistics, where you estimate the extent to which an independent variable alter tin explain or predict changes in the dependent variable.
Types of independent variables
There are two main types of independent variables.
- Experimental independent variables can be directly manipulated by researchers.
- Subject field variables cannot be manipulated by researchers, just they can be used to group research subjects categorically.
Experimental variables
In experiments, yous manipulate independent variables directly to meet how they affect your dependent variable. The contained variable is usually applied at unlike levels to see how the outcomes differ.
Yous tin can apply only two levels in order to find out if an independent variable has an effect at all.
You can also use multiple levels to find out how the independent variable affects the dependent variable.
You have three contained variable levels, and each group gets a dissimilar level of treatment.
Yous randomly assign your patients to one of the three groups:
- A low-dose experimental group
- A high-dose experimental grouping
- A placebo group
A true experiment requires you to randomly assign different levels of an independent variable to your participants.
Random consignment helps you command participant characteristics, so that they don't affect your experimental results. This helps you to have confidence that your dependent variable results come solely from the contained variable manipulation.
Subject variables
Subject area variables are characteristics that vary across participants, and they can't be manipulated by researchers. For instance, gender identity, ethnicity, race, income, and instruction are all important subject variables that social researchers care for as independent variables.
Information technology's non possible to randomly assign these to participants, since these are characteristics of already existing groups. Instead, you can create a research design where yous compare the outcomes of groups of participants with characteristics. This is a quasi-experimental design because in that location'due south no random assignment.
Your independent variable is a bailiwick variable, namely the gender identity of the participants. You have three groups: men, women and other.
Your dependent variable is the brain activity response to hearing infant cries. You tape brain activity with fMRI scans when participants hear infant cries without their awareness.
Afterward collecting data, you check for statistically meaning differences between the groups. You lot find some and conclude that gender identity influences brain responses to babe cries.
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What is a dependent variable?
A dependent variable is the variable that changes equally a outcome of the independent variable manipulation. It's the outcome you're interested in measuring, and information technology "depends" on your independent variable.
In statistics, dependent variables are as well called:
- Response variables (they answer to a alter in some other variable)
- Outcome variables (they represent the issue you want to measure)
- Left-hand-side variables (they announced on the left-hand side of a regression equation)
The dependent variable is what you tape afterwards you lot've manipulated the independent variable. You use this measurement data to bank check whether and to what extent your independent variable influences the dependent variable by conducting statistical analyses.
Based on your findings, you can estimate the degree to which your independent variable variation drives changes in your dependent variable. Y'all can also predict how much your dependent variable will change as a upshot of variation in the independent variable.
Identifying independent vs. dependent variables
Distinguishing betwixt independent and dependent variables can be tricky when designing a complex study or reading an academic paper.
A dependent variable from one study can be the contained variable in another report, so it's important to pay attention to research pattern.
Here are some tips for identifying each variable blazon.
Recognizing independent variables
Use this list of questions to cheque whether you're dealing with an independent variable:
- Is the variable manipulated, controlled, or used as a subject grouping method by the researcher?
- Does this variable come up before the other variable in fourth dimension?
- Is the researcher trying to empathise whether or how this variable affects another variable?
Recognizing dependent variables
Cheque whether y'all're dealing with a dependent variable:
- Is this variable measured as an outcome of the study?
- Is this variable dependent on another variable in the study?
- Does this variable get measured only afterward other variables are contradistinct?
Independent and dependent variables in research
Independent and dependent variables are generally used in experimental and quasi-experimental research.
Here are some examples of research questions and corresponding independent and dependent variables.
| Research question | Independent variable | Dependent variable(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Exercise tomatoes abound fastest under fluorescent, incandescent, or natural lite? |
|
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| What is the effect of intermittent fasting on blood carbohydrate levels? |
|
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| Is medical marijuana effective for pain reduction in people with chronic pain? |
|
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| To what extent does remote working increase job satisfaction? |
|
|
For experimental data, you analyze your results by generating descriptive statistics and visualizing your findings. Then, you select an appropriate statistical test to test your hypothesis.
The type of examination is determined by:
- your variable types
- level of measurement
- number of contained variable levels.
You lot'll often use t tests or ANOVAs to analyze your information and answer your research questions.
Visualizing contained and dependent variables
In quantitative enquiry, it's skillful practice to use charts or graphs to visualize the results of studies. Generally, the independent variable goes on the x-axis (horizontal) and the dependent variable on the y-axis (vertical).
The type of visualization yous use depends on the variable types in your research questions:
- A bar chart is ideal when yous have a categorical independent variable.
- A scatter plot or line graph is best when your independent and dependent variables are both quantitative.
To inspect your data, you identify your independent variable of treatment level on the x-axis and the dependent variable of blood pressure on the y-axis.
You plot confined for each treatment grouping before and after the treatment to show the divergence in blood pressure.
Based on your results, you annotation that the placebo and low-dose groups prove little departure in blood pressure, while the high-dose group sees substantial improvements.
Often asked questions well-nigh contained and dependent variables
- What's the definition of an independent variable?
-
An independent variable is the variable you manipulate, control, or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. It's chosen "independent" because it'southward non influenced past any other variables in the report.
Contained variables are besides called:
- Explanatory variables (they explicate an consequence or outcome)
- Predictor variables (they can be used to predict the value of a dependent variable)
- Correct-hand-side variables (they announced on the right-paw side of a regression equation).
- What's the definition of a dependent variable?
-
A dependent variable is what changes as a result of the contained variable manipulation in experiments. It's what you're interested in measuring, and information technology "depends" on your contained variable.
In statistics, dependent variables are besides called:
- Response variables (they respond to a modify in another variable)
- Outcome variables (they represent the upshot you want to measure)
- Left-hand-side variables (they appear on the left-paw side of a regression equation)
- Can I include more than one independent or dependent variable in a report?
-
Aye, but including more than i of either type requires multiple research questions.
For example, if you lot are interested in the effect of a diet on health, you tin use multiple measures of health: blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, pulse, and many more. Each of these is its ain dependent variable with its ain inquiry question.
You could also choose to look at the upshot of exercise levels as well as diet, or even the additional effect of the 2 combined. Each of these is a divide independent variable.
To ensure the internal validity of an experiment, y'all should only change one independent variable at a time.
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