Saturday, February 1, 2014

ResearchMethods: Topics, RQs & H's: IVs, DVs, CVs & RQs (U3-P3) Sp14

Earlier we defined...
Research question (RQ): "An interrogative statement exploring the relationship between two or more constructs [concepts, variables, etc.]" (Stewart, 2002, p. 173).
More specifically, we could say a RQ is a question that asks about the influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

We didn't change anything.  We just added some further detail.  We just named the variables.

So what are independent variables, etc.?

  • Dependent variable (DV): the variable that is being influenced by another variable.
    • The value of the DV is dependent on the value of the IV.
  • Independent variable (IV): the variable that is doing the influencing.
  • Confounding variable: a variable that may also explain what is being studied, but is not a main focus of the study.

Example: Does violence in video games (IV) cause violent behavior in children (DV)?

What would that RQ look like if you diagrammed it?

How does the CV work in here?  Can you think of a CV for the above RQ?


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