examples of independent and dependent variables in healthcare examples of independent and dependent variables in healthcare

1 For example, in a study looking at how tutoring impacts test scores, the dependent variable would be the participants' test scores since that is what is being measured. The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment. Variables you manipulate in order to affect the outcome of an experiment. After collecting data, you check for statistically significant differences between the groups. Bookshelf Before At the end of two months, the doctors measure the size of each patients tumor. Nominal and categorical variables describe samples in groups based on counts that fall within each category, have no quantitative relationships, and cannot be ranked. Brain morphology, harm avoidance, and the severity of excessive internet use. finishing places in a race), classifications (e.g. The independent variable in this sleep study is lavender, and the dependent variable is the total amount of time spent in deep sleep. and transmitted securely. They are sometimes recorded as numbers, but the numbers represent categories rather than actual amounts of things. Dave Cornell (PhD) and Peer Reviewed by Chris Drew (PhD), Definition of Independent and Dependent Variables, Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables, 1. Pritha Bhandari. Another way to put it is the dependent variable is the output value and the independent variable is the input value. For example, scientists can learn if graphic video games make people more aggressive, if mediation reduces stress, if Gatorade improves athletic performance, and even if certain medical treatments can cure cancer. The experiment is an incredibly valuable way to answer scientific questions regarding the cause and effect of certain variables. Next, we randomly assign each person to either practice meditation every day, three days a week, or not at all. These concepts should not be confused with predictor and outcome variables. An operational definition describes exactly what the independent variable is and how it is measured. You measure the math skills of all participants using a standardized test and check whether they differ based on room temperature. Your independent variable is the temperature of the room. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. At the same time, software on the computer that utilizes the computers camera is measuring each males pupil dilation. Instead, you can create a research design where you compare the outcomes of groups of participants with characteristics. A chemicals company has developed three different versions of their concrete mix. Based on your results, you note that the placebo and low-dose groups show little difference in blood pressure, while the high-dose group sees substantial improvements. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 20(4), 161170. Your email address will not be published. There may be other extraneous variables that are not pertinent to explaining a given dependent variable, but may have some impact on the dependent variable. Work (Reading, Mass. The independent variable is the teaching method, and the dependent variable is performance on the critical thinking test. All crash cars were of the same make, year, and model. Scribbr. How many minutes or hours of television a person watches is the dependent variable. An independent variable (IV) is what is manipulated in a scientific experiment to determine its effect on the dependent variable (DV). Each of these is a separate independent variable. In quantitative research, its good practice to use charts or graphs to visualize the results of studies. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. The amount of input the workers have over their work is the independent variable in this example. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, August 27). For example: In a study of how different doses of a drug affect the severity of symptoms, a researcher could compare the frequency and intensity of symptoms when different doses are administered. At first, many people in the industry didnt think airbags would be effective at all. The researchers at the lab have their usual test volunteers sleep in individual rooms every night for one week. Is this variable measured as an outcome of the study? The patients are randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group receives no chemotherapy, one group receives a low dose of chemotherapy, and one group receives a high dose of chemotherapy. Identifying independent vs. dependent variables, Independent and dependent variables in research, Visualizing independent and dependent variables, Frequently asked questions about independent and dependent variables. The dependent variable is the volume of liquid absorbed by the paper towel. How to identify independent variables vs. dependent variables. This includes rankings (e.g. Is the variable something that cannot be changed but that is not dependent on other variables in the experiment? The relationship makes sense and identifies the independent variable as phone use and the dependent variable as sleep quality. Doing this helps ensure that the experiments know exactly what they are looking at or manipulating, allowing them to measure it and determine if it is the IV that is causing changes in the DV. Studentsshould always cross-check any information on this site with their course teacher. For example, star ratings on product reviews are ordinal (1 to 5 stars), but the average star rating is quantitative. A group of health scientists decides to conduct a study to determine if taking vitamins improves health. Independent and Dependent Variable Examples, How to Tell the Independent and Dependent Variable Apart. While the study participants are sleeping, their heart rates and amount of time spent in deep sleep are recorded with high-tech equipment. Random assignment helps you control participant characteristics, so that they dont affect your experimental results. Data is generally divided into two categories: A variable that contains quantitative data is a quantitative variable; a variable that contains categorical data is a categorical variable. A follow-up experiment might determine how much of the chemical is needed. The independent variable is the aspect of the situation that changes in an experiment, while the dependent variable is the predicted outcome that results from the independent variable. clearly understand what a pharmacy technician can do under their own authority as a regulated health care professional, a properly designed customer satisfaction or customer An independent variable is the variable you manipulate, control, or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. Dependent variable Definition and Examples. This can provide very valuable information when studying just about any subject. There are two types of quantitative variables: discrete and continuous. J Exp Soc Psychol. (2022, December 02). It further explains that even though intervening, mediating, and moderating variables explicitly alter the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables, they help to explain the causal relationship between them. In these experimental studies, the independent variable was graphic video games, and the dependent variable was observed level of aggression. Therefore, you could state that media violence is operationally defined (in your experiment) as exposure to a 15-minute film showing scenes of physical assault; aggression is operationally defined as levels of electrical shocks administered to a second participant in another room. Whats the definition of an independent variable? February 3, 2022 If you write out the variables in a sentence that shows cause and effect, the independent variable causes the effect on the dependent variable. For example, in an experiment about the effect of nutrients on crop growth: The independent variable is the amount of nutrients added to the crop field. Is medical marijuana effective for pain reduction in people with chronic pain? National Library of Medicine In machine learning, independent variables are known as features. Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. Generally, the independent variable goes on the x-axis (horizontal) and the dependent variable on the y-axis (vertical). Youll often use t tests or ANOVAs to analyze your data and answer your research questions. Careers. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This article begins by defining the term variable and the terms independent variable and dependent variable, providing examples of each. Kaliyadan F, Kulkarni V. Types of variables, descriptive statistics, and sample size. A variable that cant be directly measured, but that you represent via a proxy. This is a quasi-experimental design because theres no random assignment. The value of a dependent variable depends on an independent variable, so a variable cannot be both independent and dependent at the same time. In this particular example, the type of information is the independent variable (because it changes), and the amount of information remembered is the dependent variable (because this is being measured). If the independent variable affects the dependent variable, then it should be possible to observe changes in the dependent variable based on the presence or absence of the independent variable. It is the variable you control. In this case, participation in after-school math tutoring is the independent variable. The research participants are randomly assigned to either receive the independent variable (called the treatment condition), or not receive the independent variable (called the control condition). Other variations of an experiment might include having multiple levels of the independent variable. Independent variable causes an effect on the dependent variable. The health of the rat (whether it lives and can reproduce) is the dependent variable. The independent variable is the brand of paper towel. December 2, 2022. The independent variable is the color of the room, and the dependent variable is the amount of time spent in the room eating. A dependent variable is what changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation in experiments. You think rising sea temperatures might affect the amount of algae in the water. Women are more attracted to men without earrings than men with earrings. The type of visualization you use depends on the variable types in your research questions: To inspect your data, you place your independent variable of treatment level on the x-axis and the dependent variable of blood pressure on the y-axis. One way to determine whether a relationship between variables is causal is based on three criteria for research design:temporal precedence meaning that the hypothesized cause happens before the measured effect;covariation of the cause and effect meaning that there is an established relationship between the two variables regardless of causation; and a lack of plausible alternative explanations. In this experiment, we have one independent and three dependent variables. You record brain activity with fMRI scans when participants hear infant cries without their awareness. , Independent and Dependent Variables Examples, Free Printable Periodic Tables (PDF and PNG), Periodic Table with Charges - 118 Elements, Periodic Table For Kids With 118 Elements. An example of a dependent variable is depression symptoms, which depends on the independent variable (type of therapy). The company has prepared three versions of their crust that vary in crunchiness, they are: a little crunchy, very crunchy, and super crunchy. Type of light the tomato plant is grown under, Presence or absence of intermittent fasting, Presence or absence of medical marijuana use, Type of work environment (remote or in office). Vehicle Exhaust and Cognitive Performance, Mastery Learning: 10 Examples, Strengths & Limitations. So, they use Photoshop to manipulate the same image of a female by altering the color of her hair: blonde, brunette, red, and brown. The amount of skull damage of dummies in cars with airbags was then compared with those without airbags. Example: How long you sleep (independent variable) affects your test score (dependent variable). If you are having a hard time identifying which variable is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable, remember the dependent variable is the one affected by a change in the independent variable. Your dependent variable is the brain activity response to hearing infant cries. The independent variable is Mozart, and the dependent variable is exam scores. Are you ready to take control of your mental health and relationship well-being? 3. Information biasrefers to a systematic error due to inaccurate measurement or classification of disease, exposure, or other variables.[3] Recall bias, a type of information bias, occurs when study participants do not remember the information they report accurately or completely. In this example, the color of the office is the independent variable. Yes, but including more than one of either type requires multiple research questions. An example of a dependent variable is how tall you are at different ages. An independent variable is the variable you manipulate or vary in an experimental study to explore its effects. Here, the amount of chemical is the independent variable and the rat health is the dependent variable. In addition to being bad for the environment, car exhaust may cause damage to the brain and impair cognitive performance. Fortunately, there was a way to test this theory objectively. coin flips). Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The research would look something like this: laboratory rats would be raised in three different rooms that varied in the degree of car exhaust circulating in the room: no exhaust, little exhaust, or a lot of exhaust. J Health Care Chaplain. The temperature and light in the room the plants are kept in, and the volume of water given to each plant. Sensors on the crash dummy skulls allowed for a scientific analysis of how much damage a human skull would incur. Published on You need to know which types of variables you are working with in order to choose appropriate statistical tests and interpret the results of your study. The dependent variable is the response that is measured. Here, the amount of chemical would be the independent variable and the rat health would be the dependent variable. One way to examine this possibility would be to conduct an animal study. All of the athletes are given the exact same amount of liquid to consume 30-minutes before and during their run. In addition, the article links terminology about variables with the concept of levels of measurement in research. A confounding variable, also called a confounder or confounding factor, is a third variable in a study examining a potential cause-and-effect relationship. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Dependent Variables | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Would you like email updates of new search results? When you do correlational research, the terms dependent and independent dont apply, because you are not trying to establish a cause and effect relationship (causation). Independent variables are the variables that the experimenter changes to test their dependent variable. J Res Nurs. If you have the variables in the wrong order, the sentence won't make sense. Some useful types of variables are listed below. The conditions of each room are all exactly the same, except that half of the rooms have lavender released into the rooms and half do not. Although there are many types of bias, two common types are selection bias and information bias. The article explains that the terms extraneous, nuisance, and confounding variables refer to any variable that can interfere with the ability to establish relationships between independent variables and dependent variables, and it describes ways to control for such confounds. (2022, December 02). One of the most popular forms of regression analysis is linear regression, which allows you to establish a linear relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. The independent variable is the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes and is assumed to directly affect the dependent variable. Confounding variables lead to bias, or a factor that may cause an estimate to differ from the true population value. Dependent and Independent variables Example of Denominator In p = 4q, p is the dependent variable, because its value depends on the value of q. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. Each version contains a different blend of specially developed chemicals. Categorical variables are any variables where the data represent groups. Social class has a significant effect on IQ scores. Taylor, J. M., & Rowe, B. J. How do we define young, old, or memory? For the following hypotheses, name the IV and the DV and operationalize both variables. Your independent variable is a subject variable, namely the gender identity of the participants. Cite this Article in your Essay (APA Style), Privacy PolicyTerms and ConditionsDisclaimerAccessibility StatementVideo Transcripts. A researcher wants to determine if the color of an office has any effect on worker productivity. 4. A group of teachers is interested in which teaching method will work best for developing critical thinking skills. Educators are interested in whether participating in after-school math tutoring can increase scores on standardized math exams. Its called independent because its not influenced by any other variables in the study. So, they rent space in a large shopping mall and create three different simulated restaurant interiors of different colors. 2. In an experiment to determine how far people can see into the infrared part of the spectrum, the wavelength of light is the independent variable and whether the light is observed (the response) is the dependent variable. variable, or in the form (x2 + y2 ) dx dy 2xy = 0, where x is the dependent variable and y is the independent variable. Measurements of continuous or non-finite values. Blazing Angels or Resident Evil? Difference Between Independent and Dependent Variables, Dependent Variable Definition and Examples, Independent Variable Definition and Examples, What Is an Experiment? Published on Ferguson, C. J. Independent variables are defined as those the values of which influence other variables. After a certain period of time, perhaps several months, the effects on cognitive performance could be measured. Bias is a systematic error in study design, subject recruitment, data collection, or analysis that results in a mistaken estimate of the true population parameter.[2]. If we didnt do this, then it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to compare the findings of different studies to the same behavior. Educators, social scientists, and parents were shocked at how graphic games were becoming. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. You can think of independent and dependent variables in terms of cause and effect: an independent variable is the variable you think is the cause, while a dependent variable is the effect. Below is an example of using independent and dependent variables in an ecological study: A government agency handles environmental care in a city. You manipulate the independent variable (the one you think might be the cause) and then measure the dependent variable (the one you think might be the effect) to find out what this effect might be. Measures of central tendency in chaplaincy, health care, and related research. They fill each mold with one of the different concrete mixtures. Be careful with these, because confounding variables run a high risk of introducing a variety of. In this natural experiment, a community living near higher concentrations of car exhaust may also live near factories that pollute or have higher rates of smoking. For experimental data, you analyze your results by generating descriptive statistics and visualizing your findings. In your research design, its important to identify potential confounding variables and plan how you will reduce their impact. Next, they test the strength of each bridge by placing progressively more weight on its center until the bridge collapses. Operational variables (or operationalizing definitions) refer to how you will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study. A confounding variable, or confounder, affects the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. In an experiment, the researcher is looking for the possible effect on the dependent variable that might be caused by changing the independent variable. You want to determine whether a chemical is essential for rat nutrition, so you design an experiment. The three plant health variables could be combined into a single plant-health score to make it easier to present your findings. ThoughtCo. The dependent variable (sometimes known as the responding variable) is what is being studied and measured in the experiment. At the end of one year, the health of all participants is assessed, using blood pressure and cholesterol level as the key measurements. Their muscle mass is measured, and only those with a lower level are selected for the study, leaving a total of 80 study participants. Review of General Psychology, 14(2), 68-81. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018941, Flannelly, L. T., Flannelly, K. J., & Jankowski, K. R. (2014). In a study to determine whether how long a student sleeps affects test scores, the independent variable is the length of time spent sleeping while the dependent variable is the test score. Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. One is called the dependent variable, and the other is the independent variable. Does practicing meditation reduce stress? So, they create three bridge molds that are identical in every way. To understand this concept, it's helpful to take a look at the independent variable in research examples. People learn more when they study in a quiet versus noisy place. The independent variable is one that the researchers either manipulate (such as the amount of something) or that already exists but is not dependent upon other variables (such as the age of the participants). The term causation is vitally important. by Chaplaincy research: its value, its quality, and its future. Plausible alternative explanations are other factors that may cause the dependent variable under observation.[4]. Whats the definition of a dependent variable? In an experiment, some volunteers receive the new treatment, another group receives a different treatment, and a third group receives no treatment. In a well-designed experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental (e.g., treatment) and control (e.g., placebo) groups. Each shopper is given a box of the same food and drink items and sent to one of the rooms. Indian Dermatol Online J. One common way of assessing cognitive performance in laboratory rats is by measuring the amount of time it takes to run a maze successfully. Variables that represent the outcome of the experiment. FOIA HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, NLM Support Center The teachers then compare the scores of each of the three groups of students. To what extent does remote working increase job satisfaction? In this example, the independent variable is Gatorade, and the dependent variable is heart rate. The researchers then compare the scores of the exams between the two groups of classrooms. In an experiment, the researcher looks for the possible effect on the dependent variable that might be caused by changing the independent variable. Categorical variables represent groupings of some kind. Well, there are a lot of ways. Design approaches to experimental mediation. 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. It also makes it easier for other researchers to replicate a study and check for reliability. A well-known fast-food corporation wants to know if the color of the interior of their restaurants will affect how fast people eat. The dependent variable would be the amount of liquid absorbed by the paper towel. Of course, they would prefer that consumers enter and exit quickly to increase sales volume and profit.