SOC 400 Topic 6 Discussion Question 1

If a research question focused on whether students who got at least 7 hours of sleep the night before a big exam did better on that exam than students who got less than 7 hours of sleep the night before, what would be the independent variable and what would be the dependent variable in an experiment to test this hypothesis? Explain your answer.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

Independent and dependent variable

In any given experiment, there are always two types of variables: independent and dependent. The dependent variable is the one being measured or tested in an experiment, while the independent variable is the one that is manipulated by the researcher. In order to understand the difference between these two types of variables, let’s consider a simple experiment: measuring the time it takes for a ball to hit the ground after being dropped from different heights. In this case, the dependent variable would be the time it takes for the ball to hit the ground, while the independent variable would be the height from which the ball is dropped. It’s important to note that there can only be one dependent variable in an experiment, but there can be multiple independent variables. This is because experiments are designed to test cause-and-effect relationships – that is, how one variable affects another. If there were two (or more) dependent variables in an experiment, it would be impossible to determine which variable was responsible for any changes that were observed.

What is a variable?

Variables are the characteristics that you measure in your study. The two main types of variables are independent and dependent variables.

Independent variables are the variables that you manipulate in order to see the effect on the dependent variable. For example, if you want to see how different teaching methods affect test scores, the teaching method would be the independent variable and the test score would be the dependent variable.

Dependent variables are the outcomes or measures in your study. In our example, the dependent variable would be the test score. The dependent variable is what changes as a result of manipulating the independent variable.

You also have control and experimental groups in some studies. The control group is not exposed to the independent variable while the experimental group is. This allows you to compare whether there actually was a difference between groups or if any difference observed was due to other factors.

Extraneous variables are characteristics that could potentially affect your results but that you don’t want to or can’t control for. For example, gender could be an extraneous variable if you are testing a new math curriculum with 5th graders and boys typically do better than girls on math tests. You wouldn’t want gender to impact your results so you would want to hold it constant by only testing one gender at a time or by randomly assigning students to treatment conditions (exposing them to different independent variables).

What is an independent variable?

An independent variable is a variable that is not affected by the other variables in the experiment. It is the variable that is being tested to see how it affects the dependent variable.

What is a dependent variable?

The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment. The dependent variable is affected by the independent variable. In an experiment, the dependent variable is the outcome of interest, and the independent variable is what is manipulated.

How to identify independent and dependent variables in a study

In any experiment or scientific study, there are always two types of variables: independent and dependent. The independent variable is the one that is being manipulated or changed by the researcher, while the dependent variable is the one that is being affected by the change in the independent variable. In order to determine which is which, ask yourself this question: “What is the cause and what is the effect?” The answer to that will help you label each type of variable correctly.

The difference between independent and dependent variables

Independent and dependent variables are the two key concepts in any scientific experiment. An independent variable is a variable that is being manipulated by the researcher, while a dependent variable is a variable that is being measured. The goal of any experiment is to find out how the independent variable affects the dependent variable.

In order to do this, the independent variable must be held constant while the dependent variable is measured. This allows for a clear cause and effect relationship to be established. If the independent variable is not held constant, then it becomes impossible to know whether any changes in the dependent variable are due to the independent variable or some other factor.

It’s important to note that there can only be one independent variable in an experiment. This is because if there more than one, then it again becomes impossible to know which one is responsible for any changes in the dependent variable. However, there can be multipledependent variables.

So, to recap: independent variables are those that are being manipulated by the researcher and can only have one value at a time, while dependent variables are those being measured and can have multiple values over time.

How to use independent and dependent variables in research

When conducting research, independent and dependent variables are used to help explain the cause-and-effect relationship between two phenomena. The independent variable is the variable that is being manipulated in order to observe its effect on the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the outcome or response that is being measured.

In order to properly use independent and dependent variables in research, it is important to first identify the specific variables that will be used. Once the variables have been identified, a research design can be created that will allow for the manipulation of the independent variable while controlling for other extraneous factors. After the data has been collected, it can then be analyzed to see if there is a significant relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Conclusion

In conclusion, an independent variable is a variable that is manipulated by the researcher to test its effects on the dependent variable. A dependent variable is a variable that is affected by the independent variable. In other words, the dependent variable is what changes as a result of the change in the independent variable.

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