what is an explanatory variable

An explanatory variable is a factor that is manipulated or observed for changes in an experiment or study. It is also known as an independent variable, which is manipulated or altered only by researchers in controlled experiments. The explanatory variable is the expected cause and explains the results. In contrast, a response variable is the focus of a question in a study or experiment, and it is what changes as a result of the explanatory variable. It is also known as a dependent variable, which responds to explanatory variables. The response variable is the expected effect and responds to the explanatory variable. The terms explanatory and response variables are often used in regression analyses, which focus on predicting or accounting for changes in response variables as a result of explanatory variables.