However, in other instances, it may not be so easy to identify which variable is dependent and which is independent.an example we will use in chapter 22 illustrates this point. We have a set of local government areas (LGAs), and we calculate the rate of unemployment and the crime rate for each. Of these two variables, which do we say is independent and which is dependent? Do we form groups of LGAs according to crime rates and then compare across these groups using unemployment rates, or do we group the LGAs by unemployment rates and then compare them according to crime rates?