Ricardo develops a research study to help answer his research question: Do individuals in the northeast part of the United States have a different dialect than individuals in the southern part of the United States? He interviews individuals from Louisiana and Mississippi as well as from Maine and New Hampshire. He is interested in studying their dialects. He interviews 30 individuals in each of two age groups: 15-30 years of age and 31-75 years of age. He has all participants read and record a preselected passage three times. He then codes their dialects based on a coding system and has two other researchers code the dialects as well. Based on this information which of the following would be considered the independent variable (IV)?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The independent variable (IV) is the variable that is being manipulated or controlled in the study. In this case, the IV is the geographic origin of the participants because the study is comparing individuals from the Northeast and Southern parts of the United States to determine if there are differences in their dialects. Gender of participants, dialect, and coding of responses are not the IV in this study.

Ricardo Develops a Research Study to Help Answer His Research