what is the independent and the dependent variable

Question

Students who are exposed to sex education class are more likely to engage in pre-marital sex than those who are not in sex education class

Answer 1

This statement describes “exposed students” and “engaging students.”

Now, think about how the statement is written -- which comes first.  Does exposure to sex-ed class affect sex-engagement? Or does sex-engagement affect being in a sex-ed class?

You could also think of it this way:  Are they saying, “if the student is not in sex-ed class, they are less likely to engage in pre-marital sex” or are they saying, “if the student is not engaging in pre-marital sex they are less likely to have been in sex-ed class” ??
 
A function, with an independent and a dependent variable, is like an "if-then" kind of relationship.  But be careful, often people confuse correlation with cause-and-effect.

Answer 2

Think: which comes first? 

 

We are looking to see whether the independent variable has an effect on the dependent variable.

 

In this case, we are trying to determine whether sex education classes have an effect on pre-marital sex. So the classes are the independent variable, and the pre-marital sex is the dependent variable.