What is confounding or extraneous variable in research?
An extraneous variable is any variable that you’re not investigating that can potentially affect the dependent variable of your research study. A confounding variable is a type of extraneous variable that not only affects the dependent variable, but is also related to the independent variable.
What is the association between confounding or extraneous variable and control variable?
In experiments, researchers essay to control confounding variables and extraneous variables. Confounding variables may mask the impact of another variable. Extraneous variables may influence the dependent variable in addition to the independent variable.
What is a confounding variable in an experiment?
In an experiment, we are often interested in the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. A confounding variable is a variable that confuses the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable.
What is an example of an extraneous variable?
For example, if a participant is taking a test in a chilly room, the temperature would be considered an extraneous variable. Some participants may not be affected by the cold, but others might be distracted or annoyed by the temperature of the room.
What are examples of confounding variables?
For example, the use of placebos, or random assignment to groups. So you really can’t say for sure whether lack of exercise leads to weight gain. One confounding variable is how much people eat. It’s also possible that men eat more than women; this could also make sex a confounding variable.
Is age a confounding variable?
Age is a confounding factor because it is associated with the exposure (meaning that older people are more likely to be inactive), and it is also associated with the outcome (because older people are at greater risk of developing heart disease).
How do you identify a confounding variable?
Identifying Confounding A simple, direct way to determine whether a given risk factor caused confounding is to compare the estimated measure of association before and after adjusting for confounding. In other words, compute the measure of association both before and after adjusting for a potential confounding factor.
What is an example of confounding variables?
A confounding variable is an “extra” variable that you didn’t account for. They can ruin an experiment and give you useless results. For example, if you are researching whether lack of exercise leads to weight gain, then lack of exercise is your independent variable and weight gain is your dependent variable.
How do you identify a confounding variable in a study?
If there is a clinically meaningful relationship between an the variable and the risk factor and between the variable and the outcome (regardless of whether that relationship reaches statistical significance), the variable is regarded as a confounder.
Is age an extraneous variable?
Extraneous variables are variables other than the independent variable that may bear any effect on the behaviour of the subject being studied. These variables include age, gender, health status, mood, background, etc. …
How do you find extraneous variables?
Extraneous variables are any variables that you are not intentionally studying in your experiment or test. When you run an experiment, you’re looking to see if one variable (the independent variable) has an effect on another variable (the dependent variable).
Is gender a confounding variable?
Hence, due to the relation between age and gender, stratification by age resulted in an uneven distribution of gender among the exposure groups within age strata. As a result, gender is likely to be considered a confounding variable within strata of young and old subjects.
What’s the difference between extraneous and confounding variables?
An extraneous variable is any variable that you’re not investigating that can potentially affect the dependent variable of your research study. A confounding variable is a type of extraneous variable that not only affects the dependent variable, but is also related to the independent variable. What is an example of simple random sampling?
Which is the best definition of a confounding variable?
A confounding variable is a variable that DOES cause a problem because it is empirically related to both the independent and dependent variable. A confounding variable is a type of extraneous variable.
How are extraneous variables used in a research design?
In research that draws on a quantitative research design, especially experimental research designs (also called intervention studies ), we try and control these extraneous variables so that they do not become confounding variables [see the section on Research Designs, to learn more].
How are confounding variables restricted in a study?
In restriction, you restrict your sample by only including certain subjects that have the same values of potential confounding variables. In matching, you match each of the subjects in your treatment group with a counterpart in the comparison group.