{"id":307609,"date":"2021-04-19T13:42:09","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T11:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.nl\/?p=307609"},"modified":"2023-06-22T10:29:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T08:29:30","slug":"explanatory-and-response-variables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/","title":{"rendered":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &#038; Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In research, you often investigate causal relationships between variables using <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//experimental-design///">experiments<\/a> or observations. For example, you might test whether caffeine improves speed by providing participants with different doses of caffeine and <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//commonly-confused-words//then-vs-than///">then<\/a> comparing their reaction times.<\/p>\n<p>An <strong>explanatory variable<\/strong> is what you manipulate or observe changes in (e.g., caffeine dose), while a <strong>response variable<\/strong> is what changes as a result (e.g., reaction times).<\/p>\n<p>The words \u201cexplanatory variable\u201d and \u201cresponse variable\u201d are often interchangeable with other terms used in research.<\/p>\n<table class=\"kb-table responsive-inline full-width\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Cause (what changes)<\/th>\n<th>Effect (what\u2019s measured)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//independent-and-dependent-variables//#independent\">Independent variable<\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//independent-and-dependent-variables//#dependent\">Dependent variable<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Predictor variable<\/td>\n<td>Outcome\/criterion variable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Explanatory variable<\/td>\n<td>Response variable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Explanatory vs. response variables<\/h2>\n<p>The difference between explanatory and response variables is simple:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">An <strong>explanatory variable<\/strong> is the expected cause, and it <em>explains<\/em> the results.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">A <strong>response variable<\/strong> is the expected effect, and it <em>responds <\/em>to explanatory variables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You expect changes in the response variable to happen only after changes in an explanatory variable.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//correlation-vs-causation///">causal relationship<\/a> between the variables that may be indirect or direct. In an indirect relationship, an explanatory variable may act on a response variable through a <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//mediator-vs-moderator///">mediator<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re dealing with a purely <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//correlational-research///">correlational<\/a> relationship, there are no explanatory and response variables. Even if changes in one variable are associated with changes in another, both might be caused by a <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//confounding-variables///">confounding variable<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Errors relating to your variables can lead to <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//faq-category//research-bias///">research biases<\/a> like <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//omitted-variable-bias///">omitted variable bias<\/a> and <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//information-bias///">information bias<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Examples of explanatory and response variables<\/h3>\n<p>In some studies, you\u2019ll have only one explanatory variable and one response variable, but in more complicated research, you may predict one or more response variable(s) using several explanatory variables in a model.<\/p>\n<table class=\"kb-table responsive-inline full-width\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Research question<\/th>\n<th>Explanatory variables<\/th>\n<th>Response variable<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Does academic motivation predict performance?<\/th>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Academic motivation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">GPA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Can overconfidence and risk perception explain financial risk taking behaviors?<\/th>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Overconfidence<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Risk perception<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Investment choices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Does the weather affect the transmission of Covid-19?<\/th>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Temperature<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Humidity levels<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Wind speed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Reproduction rates of Covid-19<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Explanatory vs independent variables<\/h2>\n<p>Explanatory variables and <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//independent-and-dependent-variables///">independent variables<\/a> are very similar, but there are subtle differences between them.<\/p>\n<p>In research contexts, independent variables supposedly aren\u2019t affected by or dependent on any other variable\u2014they\u2019re manipulated or altered only by researchers. For example, if you run a <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//controlled-experiment///">controlled experiment<\/a> where you can control exactly how much caffeine each participant receives, then caffeine dose is an independent variable.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes, the term \u201cexplanatory variable\u201d is preferred over \u201cindependent variable\u201d, because in real world contexts, independent variables are often influenced by other variables. That means they&#8217;re not truly independent.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kb-textbox border-left green\"><figcaption>Example: Explanatory versus independent variables<\/figcaption>You\u2019re investigating whether gender identity and risk perception can explain or predict stress reactions to different situations.<\/p>\n<p>You gather a sample of young adults and ask them to complete a <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//survey-research///">survey<\/a> in the lab. They report <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//commonly-confused-words//there-their-theyre///">their<\/a> risk perceptions of different threatening scenarios while you record their stress reactions physiologically.<\/p>\n<p>In your analyses, you find that gender identity and risk perception are highly correlated with each other. Participants who identify as women are more likely to rate situations as riskier than those who identify as men.<\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0 means gender identity and risk perception are not independent of each other. It&#8217;s more accurate to call them explanatory variables for the response variable of stress reaction.<\/figure>\n<p>You\u2019ll often see the terms \u201cexplanatory variable\u201d and \u201cresponse variable\u201d used in <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//simple-linear-regression///">regression analyses<\/a>, which focus on predicting or accounting for changes in response variables as a result of explanatory variables.<\/p>\n<h2>Visualizing explanatory and response variables<\/h2>\n<p>The easiest way to visualize the relationship between an explanatory variable and a response variable is with a graph.<\/p>\n<p>On graphs, the explanatory variable is conventionally placed on the x-axis, while the response variable is placed on the y-axis.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">If you have <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//types-of-variables///">quantitative variables<\/a>, use a scatterplot or a line graph.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">If your response variable is categorical, use a scatterplot or a line graph.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">If your explanatory variable is categorical, use a bar graph.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you have only one explanatory variable and one response variable, you\u2019ll collect <strong>paired data<\/strong>. This means every response variable measurement is linked to an explanatory variable value for each unit or participant.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"kb-textbox border-left green\"><figcaption>Example: Explanatory and response variables<\/figcaption>You\u2019re investigating whether there\u2019s a causal relationship between academic motivation and performance in 200 college students.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Your <strong>explanatory variable<\/strong> is academic motivation at the start of the school year.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Your <strong>response variable<\/strong> is GPA at the end of the school year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Academic motivation is assessed using an 8-point scale, while GPA can range from 0\u20134. To visualize your data, you plot academic motivation at the start of the year on the x-axis and GPA at the end of the year on the y-axis. Each data point reflects the paired data of one participant.<\/p>\n<p>From the scatterplot, you can see a clear explanatory relationship between academic motivation at the start of the year and GPA at the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//wp-content//uploads//2021//04//explanatory-and-response-variables.png/" alt=\"A scatterplot visualizing the relationship between an explanatory and response variable\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-307625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/explanatory-and-response-variables.png 800w, https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/explanatory-and-response-variables-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/explanatory-and-response-variables-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"other\">Other interesting articles<\/h2>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">If you want to know more about <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//category//statistics///" class=\"ProsemirrorEditor-link\">statistics<\/a>, <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//category//methodology///" class=\"ProsemirrorEditor-link\">methodology<\/a>, or <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//faq-category//research-bias///" class=\"ProsemirrorEditor-link\">research bias<\/a>, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-bar-chart\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em>Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//normal-distribution///">Normal distribution<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//skewness///">Skewness<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//kurtosis///">Kurtosis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//degrees-of-freedom///">Degrees of freedom<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//variance///">Variance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//statistics//null-and-alternative-hypotheses///">Null hypothesis<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-list-ul\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em> Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//discourse-analysis///">Discourse analysis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//control-group///">Control groups<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//mixed-methods-research///">Mixed methods research<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//non-probability-sampling///">Non-probability sampling<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//quantitative-research///">Quantitative research<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//ecological-validity///">Ecological validity<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\" style=\"background-color: #e8f2fc; padding: 1.27rem 1.56rem; line-height: 1.8; border-radius: .5rem; margin-right: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;\">\n<p><strong><em class=\"fa fa-globe\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/em> Research bias<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding: 5px;\">\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//pygmalion-effect///">Rosenthal effect<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//implicit-bias///">Implicit bias<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//cognitive-bias///">Cognitive bias<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//selection-bias///">Selection bias<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//negativity-bias///">Negativity bias<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//research-bias//status-quo-bias///">Status quo bias<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <h2>Frequently asked questions about explanatory and response variables<\/h2>\n<dl class=\"faq-list faq-list--arrows w-100 my-5\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\n            <div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n            <dt id=\"what-are-explanatory-and-response-variables\" class=\"faq-list__title\">\n                <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//frequently-asked-questions//what-are-explanatory-and-response-variables///" class=\"faq-list__link qa-faq-anchor\">\n                    <span itemprop=\"name\">\n                        What are explanatory and response variables?\n                    <\/span>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/dt>\n            <dd id=\"what-are-explanatory-and-response-variables-answer\" class=\"faq-list__answer qa-faq-answer kb-article-styles\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n                <div itemprop=\"text\">\n                                        <p>The difference between <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//explanatory-and-response-variables///">explanatory and response variables<\/a> is simple:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An <strong>explanatory variable<\/strong> is the expected cause, and it <em>explains<\/em> the results.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>response variable<\/strong> is the expected effect, and it <em>responds<\/em> to other variables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n                <\/div>\n            <\/dd>\n        <\/div>\n            <div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n            <dt id=\"explanatory-variables-vs-independent-variables\" class=\"faq-list__title\">\n                <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//frequently-asked-questions//explanatory-variables-vs-independent-variables///" class=\"faq-list__link qa-faq-anchor\">\n                    <span itemprop=\"name\">\n                        How do explanatory variables differ from independent variables?\n                    <\/span>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/dt>\n            <dd id=\"explanatory-variables-vs-independent-variables-answer\" class=\"faq-list__answer qa-faq-answer kb-article-styles\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n                <div itemprop=\"text\">\n                                        <p>The term \u201c<a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//explanatory-and-response-variables///">explanatory variable<\/a>\u201d is sometimes preferred over \u201c<a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//independent-and-dependent-variables///">independent variable<\/a>\u201d because, in real world contexts, independent variables are often influenced by other variables. This means they aren\u2019t totally independent.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple independent variables may also be correlated with each other, so \u201cexplanatory variables\u201d is a more appropriate term.<\/p>\n\n                <\/div>\n            <\/dd>\n        <\/div>\n            <div itemscope itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n            <dt id=\"plot-explanatory-and-response-variables-on-a-graph\" class=\"faq-list__title\">\n                <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//frequently-asked-questions//plot-explanatory-and-response-variables-on-a-graph///" class=\"faq-list__link qa-faq-anchor\">\n                    <span itemprop=\"name\">\n                        How do you plot explanatory and response variables on a graph?\n                    <\/span>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/dt>\n            <dd id=\"plot-explanatory-and-response-variables-on-a-graph-answer\" class=\"faq-list__answer qa-faq-answer kb-article-styles\" itemscope itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n                <div itemprop=\"text\">\n                                        <p>On graphs, the<a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//explanatory-and-response-variables///"> explanatory variable<\/a> is conventionally placed on the x-axis, while the response variable is placed on the y-axis.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you have <a href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//types-of-variables///">quantitative variables<\/a>, use a scatterplot or a line graph.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your response variable is categorical, use a scatterplot or a line graph.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>If your explanatory variable is categorical, use a bar graph.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n                <\/div>\n            <\/dd>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In research, you often investigate causal relationships between variables using experiments or observations. For example, you might test whether caffeine improves speed by providing participants with different doses of caffeine and then comparing their reaction times. An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in (e.g., caffeine dose), while a response variable is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[23650],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &amp; Examples<\/title>\n<!-- Added by HTTrack --><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /><!-- /Added by HTTrack -->
<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in, while a response variable is what changes as a result.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=https://www.scribbr.com/"https:////www.scribbr.com//methodology//explanatory-and-response-variables///" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &amp; Examples\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In research, you often investigate causal relationships between variables using experiments or observations. For example, you might test whether caffeine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Scribbr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/explanatory-and-response-variables.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pritha Bhandari\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pritha Bhandari\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pritha Bhandari\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/229f8369fff36342daab25be74d6fe7d\"},\"headline\":\"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &#038; Examples\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\"},\"wordCount\":890,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Methodology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\",\"name\":\"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions & Examples\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in, while a response variable is what changes as a result.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &#038; Examples\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/\",\"name\":\"Scribbr\",\"description\":\"The checkpoint for your thesis\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Scribbr\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/scribbr-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/scribbr-logo.png\",\"width\":902,\"height\":212,\"caption\":\"Scribbr\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/scribbr_\",\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/scribbr\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Scribbr-us\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/229f8369fff36342daab25be74d6fe7d\",\"name\":\"Pritha Bhandari\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83fa28c60fb1cbdc8b38513c64794b8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83fa28c60fb1cbdc8b38513c64794b8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pritha Bhandari\"},\"description\":\"Pritha has an academic background in English, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As an interdisciplinary researcher, she enjoys writing articles explaining tricky research concepts for students and academics.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/author\/pritha\/\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions & Examples","description":"An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in, while a response variable is what changes as a result.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions & Examples","og_description":"In research, you often investigate causal relationships between variables using experiments or observations. For example, you might test whether caffeine","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/","og_site_name":"Scribbr","article_published_time":"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/explanatory-and-response-variables.png"}],"author":"Pritha Bhandari","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pritha Bhandari","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/"},"author":{"name":"Pritha Bhandari","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/229f8369fff36342daab25be74d6fe7d"},"headline":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &#038; Examples","datePublished":"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/"},"wordCount":890,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Methodology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/","name":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions & Examples","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-19T11:42:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-22T08:29:30+00:00","description":"An explanatory variable is what you manipulate or observe changes in, while a response variable is what changes as a result.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/explanatory-and-response-variables\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Explanatory and Response Variables | Definitions &#038; Examples"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/","name":"Scribbr","description":"The checkpoint for your thesis","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#organization","name":"Scribbr","url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/scribbr-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/scribbr-logo.png","width":902,"height":212,"caption":"Scribbr"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/scribbr_","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/scribbr","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Scribbr-us\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/229f8369fff36342daab25be74d6fe7d","name":"Pritha Bhandari","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83fa28c60fb1cbdc8b38513c64794b8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83fa28c60fb1cbdc8b38513c64794b8e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pritha Bhandari"},"description":"Pritha has an academic background in English, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As an interdisciplinary researcher, she enjoys writing articles explaining tricky research concepts for students and academics.","url":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/author\/pritha\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307609"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":498762,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307609\/revisions\/498762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}