Most babies admitted to the NICU are premature (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy), have low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds), or have a medical condition that requires special care.
Independent variable. An independent variable is used in statistics to predict or explain a dependent variable. For example, Age and Gender might be used as independent variables to predict the age of death or life expectancy (dependent variables). In experimental designs, the independent variables are manipulated by the researcher (e.g., different dosages of a drug).
The independent (or manipulated) variable is something that the experimenter purposely changes or varies over the course of the investigation. The dependent (or responding) variable is the one that is observed and likely changes in response to the independent variable. For example, a student might change the position of a planeâs wing to see how it affects the average speed of a model plane. The wing position would be the independent variable- because the student purposely changes its location.