Most of those above are explained in the text portion of workbook chapters. Be sure to read and work through the explanatory section of each exercise before attempting to complete the worksheets. It has also been my experience that many students have some difficulty differentiating between independent variables and dependent variables. Think of independent variables as causes, driving forces, determining factors, stimuli. When the value of an independent variable changes, it makes the value of dependent variables change in response.
Dependent variables are results, reactions.
Remember, the independent variable has to exist or change before the dependent variable occurs or changes in value. In all social sciences, certain factors that affect important determinants of behaviors or attitudes are easy to identify as pre-existent. Race and sex exist from birth and, therefore, exist before any behaviors and attitudes are observed. In databases such as the General Social Survey, race and sex are always independent variables in hypotheses in which they appear as variables. In some cases, however, it may not be quite so easy to see which variable occurs first in time without thinking a bit harder about it.