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Independent vs. Dependent Variables | Definition &
Examples
Published on
February 3, 2022
by
Pritha Bhandari.
Revised on
May 4, 2022.
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.
Example: Independent and dependent variables
You design a study to test whether changes in room temperature have an effect on
math test scores.
Your independent variable is the temperature of the room. You vary the room
temperature by making it cooler for half the participants, and warmer for the other half.
Your dependent variable is math test scores. You measure the math skills of all
participants using a standardized test and check whether they differ based on room
temperature.
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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
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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
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A true experiment requires you to randomly assign different levels of an independent variable
to your participants.
Random assignment helps you control participant characteristics, so that they don’t affect
your experimental results. This helps you to have confidence that your dependent variable
results come solely from the independent variable manipulation.
Subject variables
Subject variables are characteristics that vary across participants, and they can’t be
manipulated
Tableby of
researchers.
contents For example, gender identity, ethnicity, race, income, and
education are all important subject variables that social researchers treat as independent
variables.
It’s not possible to randomly assign these to participants, since these are characteristics of
already existing groups. Instead, you can create a research design where you compare the
outcomes of groups of participants with characteristics. This is a quasi-experimental design
because there’s no random assignment.
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.
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What is a dependent variable?
A dependent variable is the variable that changes as a result of the independent variable
manipulation. It’s the outcome you’re interested in measuring, and it “depends” on your
independent variable.
In statistics, dependent variables are also called:
Response variables (they respond to a change in another variable)
Outcome variables (they represent the outcome you want to measure)
Left-hand-side variables (they appear on the left-hand side of a regression equation)
The dependent variable is what you record after you’ve manipulated the independent
variable. You use this measurement data to check whether and to what extent your
independent variable influences the dependent variable by conducting statistical analyses.
Based on your findings, you can estimate the degree to which your independent variable
variation
drives changes
Table of in your dependent variable. You can also predict how much your
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dependent variable will change as a result of variation in the independent variable.
Identifying independent vs. dependent variables
Distinguishing between independent and dependent variables can be tricky when designing a
complex study or reading an academic paper.
A dependent variable from one study can be the independent variable in another study, so it’s
important to pay attention to research design.
Here are some tips for identifying each variable type.
Recognizing independent variables
Use this list of questions to check whether you’re dealing with an independent variable:
Is the variable manipulated, controlled, or used as a subject grouping method by the
researcher?
Does this variable come before the other variable in time?
Is the researcher trying to understand whether or how this variable affects another
variable?
Recognizing dependent variables
Check whether you’re dealing with a dependent variable:
Is this variable measured as an outcome of the study?
Is this variable dependent on another variable in the study?
Does this variable get measured only after other variables are altered?
Independent and dependent variables in research
Independent and dependent variables are generally used in experimental and quasi-
experimental research.
Here are some examples of research questions and corresponding independent and
dependent variables.
Research question Independent variable Dependent variable(s)
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Do tomatoes grow fastest under Type of light the The rate of
fluorescent, incandescent, or natural tomato plant is grown growth of the
light? under tomato plant
What is the effect of intermittent fasting Presence or absence Blood sugar
on blood sugar levels? of intermittent fasting levels
Is medical marijuana effective for pain Presence or absence Frequency of
reduction in people with chronic pain? of medical marijuana pain
use Intensity of pain
To what extent does remote working Type of work Job satisfaction
increase job satisfaction? environment (remote self-reports
or in office)
For experimental data, you analyze your results by generating descriptive statistics and
visualizing your findings. Then, you select an appropriate statistical test to test your
hypothesis.
The type of test is determined by:
your variable types
level of measurement
number of independent variable levels.
You’ll often use t tests or ANOVAs to analyze your data and answer your research questions.
Visualizing independent and dependent variables
In quantitative research, it’s good practice to use charts or graphs to visualize the results of
studies. Generally, the independent variable goes on the x-axis (horizontal) and the
dependent variable on the y-axis (vertical).
The type of visualization you use depends on the variable types in your research questions:
A bar chart is ideal when you have a categorical independent variable.
A scatter plot or line graph is best when your independent and dependent variables are
both quantitative.
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Example: Results visualization
You collect data on blood pressure before and after treatment for all participants over a
period of 2 months.
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.
You plot bars for each treatment group before and after the treatment to show the
difference in blood pressure.
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.
Frequently asked questions about independent and
dependent variables
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What’s the definition of an independent variable?
What’s the definition of a dependent variable?
Why are independent and dependent variables important?
What is an example of an independent and a dependent variable?
Can a variable be both independent and dependent?
Can I include more than one independent or dependent variable in a study?
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Pritha Bhandari
Pritha has an academic background in English, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As an
interdisciplinary researcher, she enjoys writing articles explaining tricky research concepts for
students and academics.
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Table of contents
Guide to Experimental Design | Overview, 5 steps & Examples
Experimental design is the process of planning an experiment to test a hypothesis. The choices you make affect the
validity of your results.
1204
Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions & Examples
An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in, while a response variable is what changes as a
result.
40
Confounding Variables | Definition, Examples & Controls
In a cause-and-effect study, a confounding variable is an unmeasured variable that influences both the supposed
cause and effect.
515
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