Independent variables, dependent variables, and extraneous variables

Compare independent variables, dependent variables, and extraneous variables. Describe two ways that researchers attempt to control extraneous variables. Support your answer with peer-reviewed articles.

Compare independent variables, dependent variables, and extraneous variables.

Independent variables can be regarded as an antecedent and the dependent variable is the consequent. An active independent variable can be manipulated and in return affects the dependent variable. Dependent variables are the ones affected by the independent variables. Sometimes, even when all the measures in research have been considered, there can be other unexpected outcomes (Andrade, 2021). This is due to the effect of the extraneous variables that affect the research outcomes but have not been considered in the research study.

Describe two ways that researchers attempt to control extraneous variables. Support your answer with peer-reviewed articles.

Extraneous variables in research affect the internal validity of the research study. When these variables are not accounted for, it may result in various types of biases. They include; ascertainment or sampling bias, survivorship bias, attrition bias, undercoverage bias, and nonresponse bias. Sampling bias occurs when the members of the population are not selected for the study and survivorship bias results from the inability of the researchers to draw conclusions. Attrition bias is due to researchers dropping out of the study, undercoverage bias occurs when the members of the population are not presented in the study and non-response bias results from the respondents fail to respond to the survey. The process of controlling extraneous variables starts with the identification of extraneous variables. Once awareness of extraneous variables is gained, a method of control is selected. The effect of extraneous variables can be controlled through random sampling and utilizing standardized procedures. Random sampling method related to the participant's variables and this gives the research participants an equal chance of being selected for research. Researchers can make use of standardized procedures that are related to the demand and situational characteristic variables that occur during the designing of the research study. Standardized procedures ensure that the environment is kept the same for all the research participants (Rogers & Revesz, 2020). For instance, in a laboratory experiment, a specific room temperature should be maintained for accurate results.

References

Andrade, C. (2021). A student’s guide to the classification and operationalization of variables in the conceptualization and design of a clinical study: Part 1. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 43(2), 177-179. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8313451/

Rogers, J., & Revesz, A. (2020). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs. Routledge. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10091265/