Independent variable: A variable thought to be the cause of some effect. This term is usually used in experimental research to describe a variable that the experimenter has manipulated. Dependent variable: A variable thought to be affected by changes in an independent variable. You can think of this variable as an outcome. Predictor variable: A variable thought to predict an outcome variable. This term is basically another way of saying ‘independent variable’. (Although some people won’t like me saying that; I think life would be easier if we talked only about predictors and outcomes.) Outcome
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