IV and DV, can anyone help??

this may sound really stupid but the whole thing about IV and DV really confuses me... can anyone explain what they are really simply....lol i've gotta find it out for my coursework on the matching hypothesis

thanks, becky
xxx

Reply 1

Ghetto_Princess12

An independent variable is variable that is manipulated, measured, or selected by the researcher.This variable may have an effect on the dependent variable and is used generate the outcome (the dependent variable). The dependent variable is a variable that is not under the experimenter's control. It is the variable that is observed and measured in response to the independent variable

Reply 2

Om3ga

The independant variable (IV) is what u are goin to change, for example u might change the gender (have one male group and one female group). Depends what u are measuring really.

The dependant variable is what you are measuring in the experiment :smile:

Reply 3

La Trampa

IV = independent variables,things you control in the experiment e.g temperature, stimuli used etc

DV = dependent variable, the thing you're measuring e.g. participant response etc.

Reply 4

beggyboo

ahh that makes sense now! thanks you guys! xxx

Reply 5

nesarchy

is average number of alcohol per week an independent variable or a dependant variable?

Reply 6

May-o2q

Original post by nesarchy

is average number of alcohol per week an independent variable or a dependant variable?

It depends on the full question. What are you trying to measure? Only independent variable the variable that affects the dependent variable. You change the IV to see if there's any chances in DV. You can change the level or amount of IV but not DV.

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Reply 7

aleksceramics

I've always been taught that the IV affects the DV.
Just remember that and everything else is pretty straight forward. :smile:

E.g A study is made to look whether males or females differ in their levels of exam anxiety

What affects what? Well the study wants to know if gender affects exam anxiety
If the IV affects the DV, that means that gender (males and females) must be the IV and exam anxiety would be the DV.
IV: Gender- males & females
DV: Exam Anxiety

Hope that helps!

[ just realised this post was from 2007! But i hope someone else is reading and benefits this :tongue:

]

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 8

Aireel

Original post by aleksceramics

I've always been taught that the IV affects the DV.
Just remember that and everything else is pretty straight forward. :smile:

]

Yes, two years later I found your comment the most useful among the rest.

I still am confused with my coursework in particular, as I am not sure if a scale can work as an IV.... Details are as follow:

The psychological construct of individual lability has gained great interest within individual
differences research. It is proposed that individual lability is the opposite of ‘stability’ within
various psychological, cognitive, emotional, and physiological functions resulting in an ‘ease
of change’ (Stanford, 1978; Braud, 1980). However, at this time, it is unclear if individual
lability is impacted by sex differences. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to explore
possible sex differences in individual lability, assessed by the Revised Lability Scale (RLS),
(Drennan, Roe, & Collings, 2015), using a sample of one hundred participants (N = 100).

I hate to be stucked in this but I am asked what are the DV, IV and levels of IV...

This is what I think:
DV= sex differences in individual lability
IV= Revised Lability Scale
levels of IV= none...?

Am I wrong? What do you think?

Reply 9

BPBPBPBP

I think the answer to your question is this:

IV = sex
DV = Lability

You might think how can sex be manipulated, we're not changing people's sex for goodness sake! But if you view it from a *variable* point of view, the sex does change, the value of the sex variable changes, can change, does chnage depending on who your participants are. You run the experiment with a male, then you run the experiment with a female. The sex variable is changing per run of the experiment depending on simply if you choose a male or female participant.

Reply 10

Hisham Morsi

The IV - Independent Variable is what the researcher manipulates.
The Dv - Dependant variable is what the researcher measures.

Reply 11

Jacintass

what would this be?Children learn a language in primary school will achieve higher marks in English

Reply 12

Noodlzzz

Original post by Jacintass

what would this be?Children learn a language in primary school will achieve higher marks in English

did they all do the same language? Did some do another subject instead?

Reply 13

atieqah

hi. my topic for my assignment is young kids so into gadget leads to attitude problem. i dont know which are iv and dv. or is it my topic is not right?? i hope someone can help me. thankyou

Reply 14

anosmianAcrimony

Original post by atieqah

hi. my topic for my assignment is young kids so into gadget leads to attitude problem. i dont know which are iv and dv. or is it my topic is not right?? i hope someone can help me. thankyou

Can you explain your assignment or your experiment more coherently and in more detail? I don't really understand what you're doing.

Reply 15

atieqah

Original post by anosmianAcrimony

Can you explain your assignment or your experiment more coherently and in more detail? I don't really understand what you're doing.

what i mean is, i have to find iv and dv in my topic isn't it? or u still dont get it what i'm trying to explain. sorry if the explanation is not clear

Reply 16

anosmianAcrimony

Original post by atieqah

what i mean is, i have to find iv and dv in my topic isn't it? or u still dont get it what i'm trying to explain. sorry if the explanation is not clear

Yeah. You're aiming to figure out if one variable has an effect on another variable. You need to decide what each of those is, and that's what you're studying.