CLASSWORK

Independent vs. Dependent Variables

In research, variables are any characteristics that can take on different values, such as height, age, temperature,
or test scores.

Researchers often manipulate or measure independent and dependent variables in studies to test cause-and-
effect relationships.

The independent variable is the cause. Its value is independent of other variables in your study.

The dependent variable is the effect. Its value depends on changes in the independent variable.

What is relationship between two variable and the Intervening variables?

It is very important to understand relationship between variables to draw the right conclusion from a statistical
analysis. The relationship between variables determines how the right conclusions are reached. Without an
understanding of this, you can fall into many pitfalls that accompany statistical analysis and infer wrong results
from your data.

An intervening variable is a hypothetical variable used to explain causal links between other variables.
Intervening variables cannot be observed in an experiment (that’s why they are hypothetical). For example,
there is an association between being poor and having a shorter life span. Just because someone is poor doesn’t
mean that will lead to an early death, so other hypothetical variables are used to explain the phenomenon. These
intervening variables could include: lack of access to healthcare or poor nutrition.

What are the example of each kind of variables?

Intervening variables explain why or how the relationship exists. For example, income is an intervening
variable that helps explain the relationship between level of education (independent variable) and spending
(dependent variable)
Let’s explore some examples of dependent and independent variables to understand their properties better.

1. How does the amount of sleep impact test scores?

Independent Variable: Time spent sleeping before the exam

Dependent Variable: Test Score

2. What is the effect of fast food on blood pressure?

Independent Variable: Consumption of fast food

Dependent Variable: Blood Pressure

3. What is the effect of caffeine on sleep?

Independent Variable: the amount of caffeine consumed

Dependent Variable: Sleep

 What is an independent variable?

An independent variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects.
It’s called “independent” because it’s not influenced by any other variables in the study.

Independent variables are also called:

Explanatory variables (they explain an event or outcome)

Predictor variables (they can be used to predict the value of a dependent variable)

Right-hand-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
change can 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 variables cannot be manipulated by researchers, but they can be used to group research subjects
categorically.
Experimental variables

In experiments, you manipulate independent variables directly to see how they affect your dependent variable. The
independent variable is usually applied at different levels to see how the outcomes differ.

You can apply just two levels in order to find out if an independent variable has an effect at all.

You can also apply multiple levels to find out how the independent variable affects the dependent variable.

Example: Independent variable levels

You are studying the impact of a new medication on the blood pressure of patients with hypertension. Your independent
variable is the treatment that you directly vary between groups.

You have three independent variable levels, and each group gets a different level of treatment.

You randomly assign your patients to one of the three groups:

A low-dose experimental group

A high-dose experimental group

A placebo group

Subject variables

Subject variables are characteristics that vary across participants, and they can’t be manipulated by
researchers. For example, gender identity, ethnicity, race, income, and education are all important subject
variables that social researchers treat as independent variables.

Example: Quasi-experimental design

You study whether gender identity affects neural responses to infant cries.

Your independent variable is a subject 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 record brain activity with fMRI scans
when participants hear infant cries without their awareness.

After collecting data, you check for statistically significant differences between the groups. You find some and conclude
that gender identity influences brain responses to infant cries.