Aims & hypotheses Flashcards
What is an aim?
An aim states the general purpose of what a study is hoping to discover.
eg: to investigate the effect of biological sex upon language skills.
What is a hypothesis?
A testable statement that is predicting the findings of the study.
(Technically this is an alternative hypothesis)
Are alternative hypothesis directional or non-directional?
They can be either.
What is a one-tailed (directional) hypothesis?
A hypothesis that states how the DV will be influenced by the IV.
eg: In a verbal language test, females will score higher than males.
What is a two-tailed (non directional) hypothesis?
A hypothesis that states that there will be a difference between the two conditions but not what the difference will be.
eg: There will be a difference in verbal language test scores between males and females
What is a null hypothesis?
A hypothesis that states there will be no difference between the experimental conditions.
eg: There will be no difference in verbal language test between males and females.
When should null hypotheses’ be included?
In all studies.
