{"id":1030,"date":"2021-07-07T18:06:35","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T22:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/?post_type=term&p=1030"},"modified":"2021-07-27T08:08:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T12:08:29","slug":"dependent-variable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/dependent-variable-350618\/","title":{"rendered":"Dependent Variable: Measuring the Outcome"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dependant variable is an entity whose observed value will change in response to another variable’s observed value. This measure, often called the response variable, is commonly visualized on the Y-axis of charts, graphs, plots, and other visual tools.<\/p>\n

The dependent variable is a measure of dependency<\/em> related to one or more independent variables. In other words; a measure of how much the observed value variable will change in response to a change in observed value for one or more variables.<\/p>\n

Visualizing the Dependent Variable<\/h2>\n

To better illustrate the role of dependent (response) variables, consider a hypothetical study that observes the change in a person’s weight based on the type of diet chosen. In this scenario, the measure of a person’s weight is the dependent variable and the chosen diet is the independent variable. The chart below also illustrates the relationship between response and explanatory variables.<\/p>\n

\"indpendent
This chart illustrates an independent variable on the x-axis and a dependent value on the y-axis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naming Conventions<\/h2>\n

Statistical terminology is notoriously convoluted\u2014the same concepts are often named differently based on the field of application. The dependent variable is one of the most commonly co-opted terms that, depending on the context of its use, may be referred to as any of the following forms (Upton, 2014):<\/p>\n