concomitant Variables- grconcomitant variable (sometimes'cae a Zcovariate") isa variable snot of interaction withthe for the: accounting for these types of variables can lead to biased or misleading results in Not so itis important to deal with them when possible. an analy E sso. ssiberoncoainyiavecain hich we chsave ding o> se fut rseate or sat ical analysis but we cannot controling itis not the focus of inobservational studies, it’s important to be aware of the fact that concomitant variables Jala ‘and the relationships between variables: In val studies, its important to design the experiment in such @ WaY that experiment il el Te folowing examples illustrate several cases in which concomitant variables could be present in a study Example 1 tween population density and ice pesearchers want to understand the relationship b likely affects ice cream sales 1 eam sales. However, 2 concomitant variable trat weather. ‘Thus, if researchers want to perform a linear regression {0 quantify the relationship tetween population densty and ice cream sales, they should also attempt to collect dat abot neather so that they ean contol fr tat variable inthe regression and De able to obtain an accurate estimate of the effect that population density has on ice ream sales,Example 2 chers want to ur Resea inderstand the relationship between hours spent practicing and s scored per ga spent practicing an Peer game by basketball players. However, a concomitant variable average Pol that likely affects average points scored is minutes payed per game, -esearchers should fae ane also track how many minutes a player plays per game so that they can i '§@ variable in regression analysis and isolate the effect that hours spent practicing has on average points scored per game Example 3 chers want to know whether or not a certain frtiier leads to increased plant Reseat icy are both potential cronth, However, sunight expsire and wetsfng frequen concomitant variables that likely affect plant growth. fe and watering frequency researchers should aso collect data on sunlight exposur ysis and be able tO they can incude them 2s variables in regression ana 1a on plant growth, after accounting for Thus, so thal understand the effect that the fertiizer f sunight exposure and watering frequency. How to Identify and Eliminate Concomitant Variables it heps to have domain expertise in the area under ies could be affecting the relationship between Juded explicitly in the study, you may be able to To discover concomitant variables, study. By knowing what potential vara the variables in the study that aren't inc ‘uncover potential concomitant variables. In observational ctcis tcaesveryameitaeminsteteiseotsconcomitant? test you can do issimplyidentifyratnenthamypreventyies pete test second pil ye randomly assign Patients to groups, we can assume that the concomitant 1s will affect both groups roughly equally. This means any differences in blood pesvecon BC attributed to the pill, rather than the effect of a concomitant variable. sananeiaanenindntaatanernis ame a ve rewacher wants to make sure that itis the manipuation of the independent wil tat has an effect on the dependent variable. us Variables tex al the other variables that could affect the dependent variable to change must ‘ecanvoled, These other variables are called extraneous or confouncing variables. a ear] omen | trarous aeTypes of extraneous variables 4, Situational Variables- These are’aspects ofthe envionment tat ight affect the partipants behavior, ©. n tonal variables should be controlled so they are the same for all participants Standardized procedures are used to ensure that conditions are the same for al participants. This includes the use of standardized instructions. Examples of situational variables, like noise, ght ortemperaturesin thee ronment. 2, Participant/Person Variable is could affect the results €.9. ‘mood, inteligence, anxiety, nervousness, concentration ete. ror example, if a participant that who took pat in a memory test was ted dyslexic oF had poor eyesight, this could affect his/her performance and the results of the experiment. The experimental design chosen can have an effect on the participant variables. Situational variables also includeworderseffects uch as giving half the participants condition condition ‘8 first. This prevents improvement due to practice, or poorer performance due to boredom. fables can be controlled using random all first, while the other half get location to the conditions of the Participant vari independent variable. Examples of participant variables like prio knomledgenihestnestatusvorvanyoother -3, Experimenter/Investigator Variable meopparmerier unconsdesty oneys.opaticpants ow they shoud behaves {scalled experimenter bias. The experiment might do this by giving unintentionalclues to the participants about what the experiment is about and how they expect them to behave. This affects the participants’ behavior, The experimenter is often totally unaware’of the influence which he/she is exerting and the cues may be very subtle but they may have an influence nevertheless. Also, the personalvattributes (e.g. age, gender, accent, manner etc.) of the experiment can affect the behavior of the participants, _Experimenters/jlInvestigatorsEffects: where the researcher unintentionally affects the ‘outcome by giving clues to the participants about how they should behave. 4: Demand characters participantsthe purpose’of the research. Demand characteristics can change the results of an experiment if participants change their behavior to\conform tovexpectations: icipants wil be affected by: (their surroundings, (i) the characteristics ofthe researcher (lil) the behavior ofthe researcher (e.g. non-verbal communication) and (iv) their interpretation of what is going on in the situation. Experimenters should attempt to minimize these factors by keeping the environment as natural, asepossibler carefuly folowing standardized procedures, Final, perhaps _cdferent experimenters should be used to see i they obtain simiar results,suppose we want to measure the effects of Alcohol (IV) on driving ability (DV). Then we would have to try to ensure that the extraneous variables do not affect the results. ‘These variables could include: > Familiarity,with:thecar: Some people may drive better because they have driven that model of the car before. > Fattiliarity-with’the'test: Some people may do better than others because they know what to expect on the test. > USed"to"drinking, The effects of alcohol on some people may be less than on others because they are used to drinking. > Fullstomach. The effect of alcohol on some subjects may be less than on others because they have just had a big meal. If these extraneous variables are not controlled they may become confounding” variables, because they could go on to affect the results ofthe experiment. Demand characteristics: environmental clues which tell the participant how to behave, like features in the surrounding or researcher's non-verbal behavior. nfounding Extraneous Variable ees Activity Level Welght Gain (Independent Variable) (Dependent Variable) One type of extraneous variable is called a confounding variable. Confounding variables directly affect how the independent variable acts’on'the dependent variable. Itcan muddle your results, leading you'to think that there's cause and effect when in fact — \bove In the above example, a confounding variable could be introduced if the researcher gave the text book to students ina low income school, and assigned online Jearning to students in a higher income school. As students in higher income schools typically take more challenging coursework than students in lower income schools, pré- knowiedge becomes 2 confounding extraneous variable. One way to control extraneous variables is with random sampling, Random 2 yroups:If random sampling /s not used, the effect that an extraneous variable can have on the study results becomes a lot more of a concer. Control Variables ep constant, winen conducting research, In a typical esearch design, 2 researcher measures the effect an independent variable has on a dependent variable. To property measure the relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable, _ eer vrais kon as extancousoafeung ers, mit be cnt Siaieteiietsientsondocized, ‘Although control variables are not the central interest of a researcher, they are paramount to properly understand the relationship between independent and dependent variables. If extraneous variables are not controlled in a research project, they can skew the results of a study. If used properly, control variables can help the researcher accurately test the value of an independent variable on a dependent variable,Business Research MODULE 2 (on your math quiz, you ear 5 points for each question that Pas aan on you answer correctly xre ly on your math Presents the number of questions that you answer correctly 07 yo Quiz, and yrepresents the total number of points that you core on your quiz. The relationship between these two variables can be expressed by the following equation: yes Identify the dependent and independent variables. a, The total number of points you score. DV/IV b. The number of questions you answer correctly. DV/IV Explanation: a. DV: The total number of points you score b, IV; The number of questions you answer correctly Concept of Independent and Dependent Variables RxFbUCT xa) iL Lvuwew.yo m/watch?\ Variables are given a special name that only applies to experimental investigations. One is called the dependent variable and the other the independent variable,Independent Variables able is the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes, and The independent vari For example, allocating is assumed to have participants to ether drug or placebo conditions (Independent variable) in order casure any changes in the intensity ‘of their anxiety (dependent variable). seniansnnmsnicelaiaai Rael nthe independent variable: An ‘example of a dependent variable IS ands dependent on depression symptoms, ds on the independent variable (type of therapy)» fe used to represent the ind wiich depen xis often the variable fependent variable in an equation jent Variables sured in an experiment, ‘a dependent variable Is variable is the variable beng tested and mea dependent and is dependent on the independent variable. An example of depression symptoms; which depends on the independent variable (PE of therapy). tion. mn experiment, the resea caused by changing t jable that might be Ea Eaagependent Variables i TE nats se independent variable isthe variable the experimenter manipulates’ or changes, 2 nd to have aidirectieffect!on the dependent variable, ig assumed non For example, allocating paticpants to elther drug oF placebo conditions (independent variable) in order to ease any changes in the intensity of their anviety (dependent variable), | | andis dependent on the independent variabley An example of a dependent variable is depression symptoms, which depends on the independent variable (type of therapy). sisoften the variable used to represent the independent variable in an equation, Dependent Variables independent variable is manipulated. ‘The dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in an experiment, {nd is dependent on the independent variable. An example of a dependent variable is ¢epresson symptoms, which depends on the independent variable (type of therapy). ‘soften the variable used to represent the dependent variable in an equation. han experiment, the researcher is looking for the possible effect on the dependent Verb that might be caused by changing the independent variable. Condition A Dependent Tntuences variable Condition 8 —— a; examples of Independent and Dependent Variables in Experiments wwe might change the type of information (e.g. organized! or rendom) random For example, ants to see what effect this might have onthe mount of nermation given to partic remembered. ple the type of information is the independent variable (because In this particular exam information remembered is the dependent variable it changes) and the amount (because this is being measured). ante LA re vies of Independent and Dependent Veriables in Experimental Research ‘repent Vien ‘Dependent Vibes enw iecaypec io SEM ca eg Tee ee ems et ci ra ee earl es -ivaent toe bong legal bles ear of Tenner note pa eae rporcs such 2st (pie orien re __ Lieder ene ‘Experimental manipulations: types “Seli-report variables: measures of ans * | ‘of beverage consumed (alcohol vs ‘mood, or marital or be satisfaction a fensearo mom | ly ot oH ha: —$$ rrr:EXERCISE: {1 For the following hypotheses name the 1 and the ov Lack of sleep significantly affects learning in students. a. DV: Learning in students b. IV: Lack of sleep Time of{lay has a significant effect on alertness 4, ooh ye a. DV: Alertness b. IV: Time of day 3, You are buying boxes of chocolates at a bakery. Each box of chocolates costs Rs 40. Which of the following statements are true? ‘a. The dependent variable is the number of boxes of chocolates you buy. bb. The independent variable is the number of boxes of chocolates you buy. “iz. The dependent variable is the amount of money you spend on the chocolates. Explanation: Does the amount of money you spend depend on the number of boxes of chocolates you buy, or does the number of boxes of chocolates you buy depend on the amount of money you spend? ‘The amount of money you spend depends on the number of boxes of chocolates you buy. Therefore, the amount of money you spend is the dependent variable, and the ‘number of boxes of chocolates you buy is the independent variable. The correct answers are: jable is the number of boxes of chocolates you buy. > The independent vari > The dependent variable is the amount of money you spend an the chocolates. ‘ $<