Introduction > Step-by-Step Statistics > Now You've Mastered the Basics > Understanding Your Data

Understanding Your Data It’s never too early to start thinking about statistics. Ideally, you should consider what analyses you’ll use before you begin your research. This allows you to plan your experimental design and data collection accordingly. It’s not the end of the world, however, if you’ve collected your data before thinking about the analyses. Before you think about your analysis, it's important to understand your data. You will have an explanatory (independent) variable which is the treatment you've applied or that factor you're manipulating. You'll also have a response (dependant) variable, which is what you've measured or the results of your research. For example, if you've investigated the effects of a growth regulator on the number of peas produced in each pod, the explanatory variable would be the growth regulator(s) and the response variable is the number of peas in each pod. Perhaps an easier way to think about the variables is to visualise a graph of your results. The x-axis will be the explanatory variable and the y-axis will be the response variable.

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