define dependent and independent variables in a study
An independent variable is a variable believed to affect the dependent variable. This is the variable that you, the researcher, will manipulate to see if it makes the dependent variable change. In our example of hungry people throwing a ball, our independent variable is how long it's been since they've eaten.
The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured in an experiment. For example, in a study looking at how tutoring impacts test scores, the dependent variable would be the participants' test scores. In a psychology experiment, researchers are looking at how changes in the independent variable cause changes in the dependent variable.