Aims, variables, hypothesis and data types

Question 1

Quantitative data

Answer 1

Information that’s measured in numbers or quantities.

Question 2

Quantitative data - example

Answer 2

Closed questions in a questionnaire.

Question 3

Quantitative data - advantage

Answer 3

Quantitative data is easy to analyse.
Enables more conclusions to be drawn.

Question 4

Quantitative data - disadvantages

Answer 4

The data may oversimplify reality.
A closed question may make someone feel forced to choose an answer that doesn’t accurately represent their feelings.
The conclusions would be meaningless.

Question 5

Qualitative data

Answer 5

Information in words that cannot be counted or quantified.

Question 6

Qualitative data - example

Answer 6

Open questions in a questionnaire.

Question 7

Qualitative data - advantage

Answer 7

Qualitative data provides detailed information.
Can provide an insight into behaviour as the answers aren’t restricted by expectation.

Question 8

Qualitative data - disadvantage

Answer 8

The complexity of the data makes it harder to analyse and draw conclusions.

Question 9

Applying quantitative and qualitative data to primary and secondary data

Answer 9

Primary and secondary data can be both quantitative and qualitative.

Question 10

Primary data

Answer 10

Information observed or collected first hand.

Question 11

Primary data - method

Answer 11

Designing a study.
Gaining ethical approval.
Carrying out research.
Drawing conclusions.

Question 12

Primary data - advantage

Answer 12

The researcher has control over the data.
The data collection has been designed to fit the aims and hypothesis of the study.

Question 13

Primary data - disadvantage

Answer 13

Very lengthy and expensive process.
Designing a study requires a large amount of time.

Question 14

Secondary data

Answer 14

Information collected for a purpose other than the current one.

Question 15

Secondary data - examples

Answer 15

Data collected by themselves for another study or data from another researcher.
This may also include government statistics or newspaper articles.

Question 16

Secondary data - advantages

Answer 16

Simple and cheap to access someone else’s data.
Less time and equipment needed.
Data may have already been statistically tested, so you already know whether it’s significant.

Question 17

Secondary data - disadvantage

Answer 17

The data may not exactly fit the needs / aims.

Question 18

Aim

Answer 18

A statement of what the researcher intends to find out in a research study.

Question 19

Hypothesis

Answer 19

A precise and testable statement about the assumed relationships between variables.

Question 20

Directional hypothesis

Answer 20

States the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions.

Question 21

Non-directional hypothesis

Answer 21

Simply predicts that there will be a difference without stating the direction.

Question 22

Alternative hypothesis

Answer 22

The hypothesis in any study.
It can also be called an experimental hypothesis if the study is an experiment.
It predicts that the independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable or that there will be a relationship between the variables.

Question 23

Null hypothesis

Answer 23

This is the opposite of the experimental hypothesis.
It states the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable or that there won’t be a relationship between the variables.

Question 24

Operationalisation

Answer 24

Making something precise and testable.

Question 25

Independent variable

Answer 25

The variable that is deliberately manipulated or changed by the researcher.

Question 26

Dependent variable

Answer 26

The variable that the researcher measures.

Question 27

Extraneous variables

Answer 27

The unexpected ‘‘nuisance’’ variable which gets in the way and impacts some participants but not others .
An extraneous variable may affect the dependent variable but not in a systematic way.
It’s something that happens unexpectedly.
A researcher must try to control the control and extraneous variables as much as possible for the results to have validity.

Question 28

Confounding variables

Answer 28

Inadvertently introducing another variable.
They tend to vary systemically with the independent variable.

Question 29

Participant variables

Answer 29

These stem from the ways in which participants may differ from each other.
They may act as confounding or extraneous variables and reduce the validity of the study.

Question 30

Experimental research

Answer 30

Research carried out in the lab or in the field.
It allows us to draw casual conclusions.
We can make a statement that something causes a change in something else.

Question 31

Non-experimental research

Answer 31

Research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable.

Question 32

Confederate

Answer 32

An individual in a study who isn’t a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the researcher.

Question 33

Pilot study

Answer 33

A small-scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design, with a view to making improvements.