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 variable is the core of the experiment and is isolated and manipulated by the researcher. The dependent variable is the measurable outcome of this manipulation, the results of the experimental design. For many physical experiments, isolating the independent variable and measuring the dependent is generally easy.