Extraneous Variable
Extraneous variables are variables other than the independent variable that may bear any effect on the behavior of the subject being studied. This only affects the people in the experiment, not the place the experiment is taking place in. Some examples are gender, ethnicity, social class, genetics, intelligence, age.
A variable is extraneous only when it can be assumed to influence the dependent variable. It introduces noise but doesn't systematically bias the results.
Read more about Extraneous Variable: Classification, Types
Famous quotes containing the words extraneous and/or variable:
“There is no room for the impurities of literature in an essay.... the essay must be pure—pure like water or pure like wine, but pure from dullness, deadness, and deposits of extraneous matter.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“There is not so variable a thing in nature as a lady’s head-dress.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)