Lesson 5 Aims And Hypothesis

Question 1

What is an aim

Answer 1

Deciding upon an aim is the first step when conducting research.
An aim is a precise statement about the purpose of the study and what it intends to find out.
The aim should include what is being studied and what the study is trying to achieve.

Question 2

What is operalisation of variables

Answer 2

The second step is to decide upon the independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV) and operationalise them.
Operationalisation is defining the variables in such a way as to make them easy to measure.

Question 3

Example of operationalise aim

Answer 3

For example, in the study into the effects of chocolate on mood the operationalised IV would be the type of chocolate and how much is consumed.
The operationalised DV could be participants rating of their mood on a scale from 1-10. (10 being very happy and 0 very unhappy).

Question 4

What is a hypothesis

Answer 4

Hypotheses:
The third step is to decide upon a hypothesis and operationalise it.
A hypothesis is a precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation.

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

Question 5

What is a null hypothesis

Answer 5

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 6

What is an alternative/experimental hypothesis

Answer 6

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 7

What is a non directional hypothesis two tailed

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What is a directional hypothesis one tailed

Answer 8

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.