ibe. An <strong>independent variable</strong> is a variable which we use to help predict, explain, or describe the dependent variable. For instance, in the medical example above, the dependent variable would be the severity of symptoms, while independent variables would be the treatment (medication or placebo), and potentially other factors such as patients’ age, sex, etc. Whether a variable is a dependent or independent variable may differ from model to model. As such, it is an aspect of the analysis, an