Aims, hypothesis and pilot studies Flashcards
What is an aim in a study ?
An aim is a precise statement about the purpose of a study and what it wants to find out. It should include what is being studied and what it is trying to achieve
An example of one is the aim of to see if music affects learning .
What is an hypotheses
A hypothesis is a specific and testable statement about the expected outcome of a study , it should also be operationalised
An example of one is the hypothesis of a study with the aim of looking at if listening to music affects learning would have the hypothesis that listening to music for 30 minutes when revising will affect if they passed their test which is getting over 70%.
Correlation and causation in hypothesis
The first part of the hypothesis is addressing if it predicts correlation or causation
Correlation- predicts a relationship between the two variables
Causation- the dependent variable will change due to changes in the independent variable
Types of hypothesis
There are two types of hypotheses in a study
Null hypothesis- the IV will have no effect on the dependant variable(DV).
Alternative hypothesis- the IV will have an effect in the DV.
The alternative hypothesis has two categories
Non directional hypothesis
- this does not state the direction of the predicted differences between conditions.
Directional hypothesis- this does state the direction of the predicted change between conditions .
The decision between a directional or non directional hypothesis usually is due to of there is already previous research in the field ,if there is we can better predict the results so we use directional if not we use non directional.
Pilot studies
A pilot study are small scale investigations conducted before research.
They are useful to identify if there needs to be any modifications in the study and we can see if it’s feasible or worthwhile tick duct a full scale study.
