Lesson 5 Aims And Hypothesis

Question 1

What is an aim

Answer 1

first step when conducting research.
precise statement ab purpose of study and what it intends to find out.
should include what is being studied and what the study is trying to achieve.

Question 2

What is a hypothesis

Answer 2

second step - operationalise

this is third step
a precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation.

Differences in DV resulting from manipulation of IV is known as significant differences if it has been statistically shown that the differences are highly unlikely to be due to chance.

Question 3

What is a null hypothesis

Answer 3

This states that the IV will have no effect on the dependent variable (e.g. ‘eating chocolate will have no significant effect on a person’s mood’).

Question 4

What is an alternative/experimental hypothesis

Answer 4

This predicts that the IV will have an effect on the DV, e.g. Chocolate will have an effect on mood
The alternative hypothesis falls into one of two categories.

Question 5

What is a non directional hypothesis two tailed

Answer 5

This does not state the direction of the predicted differences between conditions (e.g. ‘eating chocolate will significantly affect a person’s mood’).

Question 6

What is a directional hypothesis one tailed

Answer 6

This states the direction of the predicted difference between conditions (e.g. ‘eating chocolate will increase a person’s mood’).

The hypothesis should also be operationalised. For example, ‘eating 250g of milk chocolate will mean that participants are significantly more likely to score between 7-10 on a mood scale from 1-10 than if they have not consumed chocolate.