Confounding Variable
Definition
An outside influence that affects the dependent and independent variables, potentially distorting results.
Example
A researcher is attempting to establish whether there is a relationship between social status and resilience. The research design fails to take into account other factors such as job satisfaction, financial stability, relationship status, and so on. Each of these factors is a confounding variable, and has the potential to impact the research results. This impact should be minimized as much as possible in order to increase the accuracy of the results.
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