aims, hypotheses, iv's and dv's

Question 1

writing aims

Answer 1

• there is always a research question a researcher wants to answer
• the aim is created from this

Question 2

independent variable

Answer 2

the variable that the experimenter manipulates, its assumed to directly affect the dv

Question 3

dependent variable

Answer 3

the variable that is measured, it is affected by changes in the iv

Question 4

directional hypothesis

Answer 4

• predicts the direction of the difference between two or more variables
• this prediction is typically based on past research

Question 5

non-directional hypothesis

Answer 5

• predicts a difference will exist between two or more variables but doesn’t predict the direction
• this is usually as previous research has been inconclusive

Question 6

operationalised hypotheses

Answer 6

• operationalisation describes how a variable is clearly defined by the researcher
• a hypothesis should have an operationalised iv and dv
• e.g. if the aim was to examine the effect of hunger on the memory of food-related words, the iv is hunger level (hungry vs not hungry) and the dv may be the number of food-related words correctly recalled