experimental method Flashcards
What is the experimental method?
It involves the manipulation of the independent variable to measure the effect on the dependent variable
What is an aim?
A statement on what the research intends to investigate
What is a hypothesis?
A testable statement which states the relationship between the variables and a prediction of what the researcher believes will happen
What is a directional hypothesis?
It states the direction of the relationship/difference. It uses like, more, less etc.
What is a non-directional hypothesis?
It doesn’t state the direction of the relationship/difference. It uses the phrase “there will be a difference”
What is a variable?
It is anything which can vary/change within an experiment
What is an independent variable (IV)?
Something which is manipulated/changed.
What is a dependent variable (DV)?
The variable which is measured by the researcher.
What is operationalisation?
It is clearly defining variables in terms of how they can be measured.
When is a directional hypothesis used?
When a theory/findings of prior research suggest a particular outcome
When is a non-directional hypothesis used?
When there’s no prior research or findings are contradictory
