In a study designed to test a new antidepressant, researchers randomly assigned a large number of psychiatric outpatients to one of two groups. Group A was given the active drug. Group B was given an identical-looking inert drug. Three psychologists independently used the Beck Depression Inventory to measure the participants' level of depression after two weeks. The independent variable in this study was the:

Question

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The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated by the researchers to examine its impact on the dependent variable. In this study, the manipulation involves giving Group A the active drug and Group B an inert drug, making the drug the independent variable.

In a Study Designed to Test a New Antidepressant, Researchers