Meaning & use
an explanatory variable
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
a factor in a study that is thought to affect or explain another factor being measured.
Grammar: Usually used in research contexts; plural 'explanatory variables'.
Patterns
- an explanatory variable in a study
- use something as an explanatory variable
- the effect of an explanatory variable
In the study, income was an explanatory variable for spending habits.
Researchers added age as an explanatory variable to improve the model.
An explanatory variable may be continuous or categorical.
nouncountabletechnicalspecialist
a variable that a researcher changes or controls to see its effect on a result.
Grammar: In experiments this sense overlaps with 'independent variable'; in observational studies it is simply measured, not controlled.
Patterns
- manipulate an explanatory variable
- an explanatory variable predicts something
The team manipulated an explanatory variable, temperature, to test plant growth.
If you change an explanatory variable, you can observe the response.
Word forms
| plural | explanatory variables |
|---|
Common combinations
- key explanatory variable
- Education was the key explanatory variable in the analysis.
- explanatory variable in a model
- We included gender as an explanatory variable in the model.
- measure an explanatory variable
- It is hard to measure an explanatory variable like motivation.
- explanatory variable and response variable
- The graph shows the explanatory variable on the x-axis and the response variable on the y-axis.
Synonyms and how they differ
- independent variable
- This is the more common term in American English and in experiments where the researcher controls the variable.
- predictor
- A predictor is any variable used in a model to predict an outcome; it is close but often used in regression contexts.
- factor
- A factor is a general word for something that influences a result, not always a measured variable.
Opposites
Word family
- explain verb
- to make something clear or give reasons for it.
- explanatory adjective
- serving to explain something.
- explanation noun
- a statement that makes something clear.
Commonly confused: an explanatory variable or response variable?
an explanatory variable vs response variable
The response variable is the outcome you measure; the explanatory variable is the one you think explains it.
Practice
In a study on exercise and heart rate, which is the explanatory variable?
Choose one answer.
Exercise is the factor thought to affect heart rate, so it is the explanatory variable. Heart rate is the response variable being measured.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “an explanatory variable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.