Sara sets up an experiment with a control group and an experimental group to study how reading to preschool children may improve their first-grade reading achievement scores. In her study, the independent variable will be
a. first- grade reading achievement scores.
b. reading to children.
c. being in the experimental group.
d. having been read to as a preschooler.
I picked "D"
Right!
Good job! Your answer is correct. The independent variable in Sara's study is "having been read to as a preschooler."
To determine the independent variable, you can identify the factor that is being manipulated or changed by the researcher. In this case, Sara is investigating the impact of reading to preschool children on their first-grade reading achievement scores. The key factor or variable that she is manipulating is whether or not the children were read to as preschoolers. This is what makes it the independent variable because it can be controlled and manipulated by the researcher.
It's important to note that the other options are not the independent variable in this study. The first-grade reading achievement scores are the dependent variable, as they are the outcome measure being studied. Reading to children and being in the experimental group are part of the experimental design or treatments being tested, but they are not the independent variable since they are not being directly manipulated by the researcher.