Aims, Hypothesis and Variables Flashcards
What is an aim?
A general statement outlining what the researcher is investigating.
“To investigate”
Example of an aim:
“To investigate the effect of leading questions on eye witness testimony”
“To investigate the effects of music genres on mathematic ability”
What is an independent variable?
Variable in the experiment that the researcher is manipulating to see what effect it has on the DV. (May also be something that changes naturally.)
Example of an IV
- The music genre
- The knife/pen (J+S study)
What is a dependant variable?
Variable in the experiment that is measured.
Affected by the manipulation of the IV.
Example of a DV
- The math test scores
- Recall accuracy of perpetrator (J+S study)
What is an extraneous variable?
Any variable other than the IV that affects the DV
- affects ALL conditions
Example of EV
Participant characteristics. e.g. IQ, gender, age
What is a confounding variable?
Any variable other than the IV that affects the DV
- affects only 1 condition
- (Usually situational factors)
Example of CV
- Noise
- Temperature
What is a hypothesis?
A testable statement in which researchers predict the outcome of the results and prove it right or wrong.
Template of Hypothesis writing:
There will be a SIGNIFICANT increase/decrease/difference in the DV when IV1 compared to IV2.
Identify differences between aim and hypothesis.
An aim is a general statement outlining what the researcher is investigating whereas a hypothesis is a testable statement in which researchers predict the outcome of the results and prove it right or wrong.
Examples of hypothesis:
There will be a significant increase in the math test scores when listening to jazz compared to pop.
There will be a significant decrease in the accuracy of the recall of the perpetrator when anxiety is present compared with no anxiety.
What is operationalisation?
Clearly defining variables so that they can be measured numerically and specifically.
Why do we operationalise the DV?
- To make findings more objective
- Helps researcher replicate studies
How could you operationalise intelligence?
Get people with similar IQ results
How could you operationalise mathematical ability?
Make people do a standardised math exam (could be GCSE)
How could you operationalise memory?
How many words from a list of 40 can they remember in a minute.
Example of a hypothesis with an operationalised DV:
There will be a significant increase in a standardised GCSE maths exam score when listening to jazz while revising compared to pop.
Null hypothesis:
Statement suggesting no affect
Can be either directional or non-directional
Alternate hypothesis
Statement suggesting there is an effect
Can be either directional or non-directional
What is a directional hypothesis?
A hypothesis that is specific about whethere the change will be an increase or a decrease
(There is usually prior research on the topic)
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
A hypothesis that is certain about the difference but not the direction of the difference between the DV and 2 conditions
(Usually no prior research on the topic.)
Example of directional null hypothesis:
There will be no significant increase in standardised GCSE maths exam scores when listening to jazz while revising compared to pop.
Example of non-directional null hypothesis:
There will be a significant DIFFERENCE in the math test scores when listening to jazz while revising compared to pop.
