Variables
Something that varies in an experiment
Independent variable (cause) - the factor manipulated by the researcher, to see how it
affects the DV. e.g year 7 students and year 11 students.
Dependent Variable (effect) - the factor that you are measuring to see the effect of the
change in the IV. e.g effect of social media.
Co-variable - To measurements are taken then compared to look for
relationships/correlations.
Operationalisation: Clearly defining the IV and the DV making them measurable. E.g Self
esteem scores from 1-10.
Extraneous variable - Any variable other than a change in the IV that may have an effect on
the DV. E.g background noise, temperature, time of day.
Confounding variable - An extraneous variable that varies systematically with the IV so we
cannot be sure of the true source of the change to the DV.
Example 1 of IV and DV
A researcher wants to find out whether
watching violent video games causes
aggression.
Q What is the IV and the DV in this
example?
IV = type of game
DV = aggression
Another example 2 of operationalise
Researchers were interested in whether age affects memory ability. They gave a list of words to
participants (aged 20-60) to learn for 30 seconds.
They were seeing how many were recalled in under 1 minute by those aged under 35 compared
to those aged over 35.
Operationalised IV= Those aged under 35 and those aged over 35
Operationalised DV= Number of words recalled in under 1 minute when learned for 30 seconds
Something that varies in an experiment
Independent variable (cause) - the factor manipulated by the researcher, to see how it
affects the DV. e.g year 7 students and year 11 students.
Dependent Variable (effect) - the factor that you are measuring to see the effect of the
change in the IV. e.g effect of social media.
Co-variable - To measurements are taken then compared to look for
relationships/correlations.
Operationalisation: Clearly defining the IV and the DV making them measurable. E.g Self
esteem scores from 1-10.
Extraneous variable - Any variable other than a change in the IV that may have an effect on
the DV. E.g background noise, temperature, time of day.
Confounding variable - An extraneous variable that varies systematically with the IV so we
cannot be sure of the true source of the change to the DV.
Example 1 of IV and DV
A researcher wants to find out whether
watching violent video games causes
aggression.
Q What is the IV and the DV in this
example?
IV = type of game
DV = aggression
Another example 2 of operationalise
Researchers were interested in whether age affects memory ability. They gave a list of words to
participants (aged 20-60) to learn for 30 seconds.
They were seeing how many were recalled in under 1 minute by those aged under 35 compared
to those aged over 35.
Operationalised IV= Those aged under 35 and those aged over 35
Operationalised DV= Number of words recalled in under 1 minute when learned for 30 seconds
