A control variable is a variable or an element which is held constant throughout an experiment or a research in order to assess the relationship between multiple variables. Since it remains constant, i. Researchers and scientists often mould control variable data along with independent and dependent variable data in regression analysis and analysis of covariance.
There are multiple ways of controlling variables. They may be controlled directly or indirectly. To control variables directly, all you need to do is hold them constant throughout a research or experiment for instance, keeping the temperature constant. To control them indirectly, you can use methods like statistical control.
Control variables are the variables or elements that researchers strive to keep constant throughout their research so that they would not influence the outcomes. In a typical research design, the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable is measured. For this to happen properly, it is crucial to control other extraneous or standardized variable.
In experiments, a researcher or a scientist aims to understand the effect that an independent variable has on a dependent variable. Control variables help ensure that the experiment results are fair, unskewed, and not caused by your experimental manipulation. In such research studies, control variables help infer relationships between the main variables of interest. By now, you must have understood how important it is to control variables that can impact the results of a research or experiment, in addition to the independent and dependent variables.
You would never be sure of whether your results are an effect of your independent variable or not. Controlling variables is important because even the slightest of variations in the research study could influence the results.. Another advantage of control variables is that they make it easier and more convenient to reproduce a research study and establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
For instance, say you are trying to determine whether a particular soil quality has an effect on plant growth. The independent variable is the soil quality, while the dependent variable is the rate of growth of the plant. Do people with a fear of water perceive water images faster than other people? 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 Show page numbers Download PDF. Search form icon-arrow-top icon-arrow-top. Page Site Advanced 7 of Disciplines : Communication and Media Studies , Sociology. The results tell you how much happiness can be predicted by income, while holding age, marital status, and health fixed.
What is your plagiarism score? Compare your paper with over 60 billion web pages and 30 million publications. Scribbr Plagiarism Checker. Control variables are held constant or measured throughout a study for both control and experimental groups, while an independent variable varies between control and experimental groups.
Aside from the experimental treatment, everything else in an experimental procedure should be the same between an experimental and control group.
Control variables help you establish a correlational or causal relationship between variables by enhancing internal validity. Internal validity is the extent to which you can be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship established in a study cannot be explained by other factors.
Researchers often model control variable data along with independent and dependent variable data in regression analyses and ANCOVAs. Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. Home Knowledge Base Methodology Control variables explained. Control variables explained Published on March 1, by Pritha Bhandari.
Examples of control variables Research question Control variables Does soil quality affect plant growth? Temperature Amount of light Amount of water Does caffeine improve memory recall? Participant age Noise in the environment Type of memory test Do people with a fear of spiders perceive spider images faster than other people? Computer screen brightness Room lighting Visual stimuli sizes Table of contents Why do control variables matter?
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