Question

Can diet affect the size of a caterpillar’s head once body weight is accounted for? To study the effect of forage quality on caterpillar head size, an ecologist raised caterpillars on three different diets: diet 1 was an artificial soft diet, diet 2 was a soft grass diet and diet 3 was a hard grass diet. The results are given below.

If i were to do a statistical analysis on this which one should I choose and which are my dependent and independent variables (predictor/response variables)

Answer 1

The data of the experiment is not mentioned in the question. But I will tell you how to go ahead with statistical analysis. You will have 3 different diet plans with weight and corresponding size of the head. These factors can be analysed using Anova. Three independent events each with its own mean and sample size. The independent variable is the one which the researcher is changing to observe the results. In this question, the diet plans are the independent variable. The dependent variable is the one which is measured by the reaserchers. It is the one we are looking for in an experiment, in this question dependent variable is the caterpillar head size.