Science, Tech, Math › Social Sciences Control Variable Share Flipboard Email Print Social Sciences Sociology Key Concepts Major Sociologists Deviance & Crime News & Issues Research, Samples, and Statistics Recommended Reading Psychology Archaeology Economics Ergonomics Maritime By Ashley Crossman Updated November 25, 2019 A control variable is a variable that is held constant in a research analysis. The use of control variables is generally done to answer four basic kinds of questions: Is an observed relationship between two variables just a statistical accident? If one variable has a causal effect on another, is this effect a direct one or is it indirect with another variable intervening? If several variables all have causal effects on the dependent variable, how does the strength of those effects vary? Does a particular relationship between two variables look the same under various conditions? Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Crossman, Ashley. "Control Variable." ThoughtCo, Jan. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/variable-control-3026157. Crossman, Ashley. (2020, January 29). Control Variable. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/variable-control-3026157 Crossman, Ashley. "Control Variable." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/variable-control-3026157 (accessed April 21, 2021). copy citation