What Dependent is
In statistics, dependent variables (also known as response variables) are variables that are being measured or observed. Dependent variables are typically the outcome of an experiment or study and are used to measure the effect of an independent variable. Dependent variables are always the result of a given input, meaning they depend on the independent variable.
Steps for Dependent Variables:
- Identify the problem you want to research.
- Specify the independent variable. This is the variable that is being manipulated or changed in the experiment.
- Specify the dependent variable. This is the variable that will be measured or observed to see if it changes as a result of the independent variable.
- Design the experiment. This includes determining the conditions, the number of trials, and the number of subjects.
- Collect the data. This involves collecting the measurements of the dependent variable for each trial.
- Analyze the data. This involves looking for patterns or relationships between the independent and dependent variables.
- Draw conclusions. This involves interpreting the data and making conclusions about the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Examples
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Regression analysis is used to model the relationship between two or more variables, where one variable is dependent on the other(s).
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Chi-squared tests of independence are used to determine whether two categorical variables are independent or dependent.
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In ANOVA, the dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured, while the independent variable(s) are the variable(s) that are manipulated.