Aims, Hypothesis And Variables Flashcards
Whats an aim
General investigative purpose of the study
Example “To investigate wether drinking coffee makes people more talkative”
Whats a hypothesis
Testable predictive statement that suggests what’s going to happen
What are the 3 types of hypothesis (h1)
Directional
Non directional
Null
Whats a directional hypothesis
This is a one-tailed hypothesis that’s vey specific (for example “significant increase”)
If past research is done a directional hypothesis can be created
Whats a non directional hypothesis
This is a two-tailed hypothesis that predicts there will be some effect or difference but doesn’t specify what the difference is (for example “there will be a significant difference”)
No past research = non directional hypothesis
What’s a null hypothesis (h0)
This suggests that nothing will happen and there will be no significant difference between the groups in the experiment.
What are the variables in an experiment
IV = what’s being changed (manipulated)
DV = what’s being measured
What does operationalising variables mean
Makes them easier to measure and to reduce subjectiveness
For example “drinking lots of coffee’ changed to “drinking 500ml of coffee”
What are some unwanted factors that can impact the IV & DV
Extraneous variables
Confounding variables
Investigator effects
Demand characteristics
Whats an extraneous variable
This may affect the DV , there are 2 types of EVs:
Participant variables (age, motivation, intelligence, concentration)
Situational variables (noice, weather, temperature, instructions)
How to reduce the EVs in a study
Do a pilot study while is small-scale trial of the actual investigation
What are confounding variables
It’s not the actual IV but it could possibly be a second (unintended) IV for some participants
What are demand characteristics
These are when the participant uses cues to try and figure out the investigators aim and guess their intentions
Please you effect- you act in a way that you think it’s expected
Screw yo effect- you act in a way that is completely different to the aim
What are investigator effects
The researcher unintentionally or unconsciously influences the outcome of the research.
How to prevent investigator effects
Doing a double blind study
