Dependent Variable

The dependent variable is the outcome your study seeks to explain or predict — the thing you expect to change in response to something else. It is also called the outcome, criterion, response or, in structural models, the endogenous variable.

In a conceptual framework diagram, it sits at the receiving end of the arrows. Everything else in the model exists to account for variation in it, and the R squared of your analysis reports how much of that variation your predictors managed to explain.

Its measurement level dictates the analysis: a continuous dependent variable points to regression, t-tests, ANOVA or SEM, while a categorical one points to logistic regression or chi-square. Decide this early, because choosing a statistical technique before pinning down how the outcome is measured is a common source of methodological trouble.