Parametric Analysis: An experiment designed to discover the differential effects of a range of values of an independent variable. Applied Behavior Analysis (2nd Edition)
An easy way to understand this is to think of the example of baking a cake. The independent variable, the one we are going to manipulate is temperature. What happens to the cake if we bake it at 200 degrees? What would happen to the cake if we baked it at 300 or 400 or 500 degrees? As we change the temperature we will discover the differential effects of this change in our finished cake. At one end of the continuum the cake does not bake and at the other end it gets burnt.
Sometimes there will be more than one independent variable we want to manipulate. Do this by only changing one independent variable at a time. Let’s suppose you have identified 350 degrees as the best temperature to bake your cake. Should you bake it for 10 minutes or 30 or 50 minutes and so on?
I found this interesting quote over at lifehacker “You can’t just close your eyes, turn the dial to 350 degrees, and pull out your goods after 30 minutes. Baking is a science. There are several solvable variables that determine baking time for your cookies, cakes, and baguettes.
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