Reply #3: that sounds about right... [View All]

[mike_c]

...without knowing more about what she did. The independent variable is the condition you varied during the experiment. The dependent variable is something that responds to the different independent variables, i.e., you're not changing it directly, but it might change as you vary the independent variable.

A control is generally an experimental treatment that does not receive the same manipulation of the independent variable that the other treatments receive. Its purpose is to make sure that the response you measured (change in the dependent variable) is in fact a response to the independent variable. That's a simple control that covers most situations and I hope it's an accurate description of your control.