When testing a proposed research problem, we perform an experiment. In order to make an effective experiment we must identify the variables.
When creating an experiment to test a research problem we can identify three kinds of variables:
The dependent variable is the one we will be observing and gathering data on. This variable will depend on the other variables, that is, if the independent variable or any other changes, it will most likely affect this variable. If we were to measure how colored light affects plant growth, the growth of the plant would be the dependent variable because it will depend on the color of the light.
The independent variable is just that, a variable whose value will not depend on any other. In the plant example I gave, the color of the light will be the independent variable. If the light is green, it will not stop being green regardless of what plant it shines on or how high it grows.
The control variables serve to isolate the causes of change in the dependent variable. A control variable will not change, In the example given the control variable is the kind of plant used. We keep the kind of plant the same in all cases so that we know that if one grows more than the other, the cause of this change is the color of light and not the species of the plant.
This is why when testing a proposed research problem, we perform an experiment that will consist of these three variable types.
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