I’m passionate about statistics, machine learning, and data visualization and I created Statology to be a resource for both students and teachers alike. My goal with this site is to help you learn statistics through using simple terms, plenty of real-world examples, and helpful illustrations. For example, a researcher might change the amount of water they provide to a certain plant to observe how it affects the growth rate of the plant. In the above equations, y or f(x) are the dependent variable, and x is the independent variable.
The independent variable, x, is some value we choose, or manipulate, to determine the value of the dependent variable. Nonetheless, the notion of independent and dependent variables does hold important lessons for qualitative researchers. Even if they don’t employ variables in their study design, qualitative researchers often observe how one thing affects another. A theoretical or conceptual framework can then suggest potential cause-and-effect relationships in their study. Common examples of dependent variables include academic performance, sales revenue, and patient recovery rates.
While the outcome variable is the effect, the independent variable is the cause behind it. Independent variables are directly manipulated by the researcher, while dependent variables are not. They are “dependent” because they are affected by the independent variable in the experiment. Researchers can thus study how manipulating the independent variable leads to changes in the main outcome of interest being measured as the dependent variable. In research, dependent variables serve as the primary focus for analysis.
Types of Dependent Variables
So far in this article we talked about variables in relation to experimental research, wherein variables are manipulated or measured to test a hypothesis, that is, to observe the effect on dependent variables. Let’s examine non-experimental research and how variable are used.11 In non-experimental research, variables are not manipulated but are observed in their natural state. Researchers do not have control over the variables and cannot manipulate them based on their research requirements. For example, a study examining the relationship between income and education level would not manipulate either variable.
A lot of those studies used an experimental design that involved males of various ages randomly assigned to play a graphic or non-graphic video game. In this study, the independent variable is meditation and the dependent variable is the amount of stress (however it is measured). Other variations of an experiment might include having multiple levels of the independent variable.
- Their muscle mass is measured, and only those with a lower level are selected for the study, leaving a total of 80 study participants.
- That makes ‘gender’ the independent variable since we’re looking to see if a person’s gender influences their IQ.
- In an experiment looking at how sleep affects test performance, for instance, the dependent variable would be test performance.
- In such experiments, the entities whose values change are called variables.
- Because you can’t randomly assign people to have these traits, studies using subject variables are called quasi-experiments.
A study on how gender identity affects brain activity when hearing infant cries might compare men, women, and people of other gender identities. You might test just two levels (to see if there’s any effect at all) or several levels (to see how different amounts change the result). All other conditions (called extraneous variables), such as environment, instructions, and timing, should be kept constant. In addition to being bad for the environment, car exhaust may cause damage to the brain and impair cognitive performance. We could measure blood pressure, or the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood, or by using a paper and pencil measure such as a questionnaire that asks them how much stress they feel.
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The only way to do that is to manipulate the independent variable and observe any changes what is a dependent variable in the dependent variable. The variables should be outlined in the introduction of your paper and explained in more detail in the methods section. There are no rules about the structure and style for writing about independent or dependent variables but, as with any academic writing, clarity and being succinct is most important.
At the end of three months, all the students take the same test that assesses critical thinking skills. The teachers then compare the scores of each of the three groups of students. The researchers then compare the scores of the exams between the two groups of classrooms. During the first three months of the academic year, they randomly select some 5th-grade classrooms to listen to Mozart during their lessons and exams. Other 5th grade classrooms will not listen to any music during their lessons and exams. A well-known fast-food corporation wants to know if the color of the interior of their restaurants will affect how fast people eat.
You can set this up as an experiment in which you record food ingested over time. You add up all the calories you eat during a day or you measure the mass of food per day. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables signifies the cause-and-effect phenomenon, where any change in the value of the former triggers a change in the latter’s value.
They can show patterns or associations but can’t prove cause and effect as strongly as experiments with experimental variables. These are personal traits or characteristics people already have and that can’t be changed by the researcher, such as age, gender identity, income, or education. For example, in a clinical trial, participants might be randomly assigned to receive either a new medication or a placebo. When video games started to become increasingly graphic, it was a huge concern in many countries in the world. Educators, social scientists, and parents were shocked at how graphic games were becoming.
Here, the type of treatment (medication vs. placebo) is the independent variable, while changes in participants’ anxiety levels form the dependent variable. In psychology, the independent variable is the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes and is assumed to directly affect the dependent variable. It represents the presumed cause in a cause-and-effect relationship and is central to testing research hypotheses. The independent variable in this sleep study is lavender, and the dependent variable is the total amount of time spent in deep sleep.
- Ethical considerations related to independent and dependent variables involve treating participants fairly and protecting their rights.
- Educators, social scientists, and parents were shocked at how graphic games were becoming.
- In the above example, we can change the textbook used by the teacher in class.
For instance, in social sciences, factors such as bias, variability, and external influences can affect the accuracy of measurements. Researchers must employ robust methodologies and statistical techniques to mitigate these challenges and ensure reliable results. In the context of statistics and experiments, the dependent variable is the variable that is being measured or tested.
When graphing data, the convention is to put the independent variable on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis. If you write an ordered pair to record data, the independent variable is given first, followed by the dependent variable e.g., (0, 2). I have a Masters of Science degree in Applied Statistics and I’ve worked on machine learning algorithms for professional businesses in both healthcare and retail.
