Lesson 6 - Aims and Hypotheses

Question 1

What is an aim?

Answer 1

An aim is a precise statement about the purpose of the study and what it intends to find out.

The aim tells us why we are carrying out the study.

For example:
The aim for researching the effects of eating chocolate on mood would be “an investigation into the effect that eating chocolate has on a person’s mood”

Question 2

What is operationalisation of variables?

Answer 2

This is defining a variable (both IV and DV) into something that is measurable.
For example:
In the study of the effects of chocolate on mood, the operationalised IV would be type of chocolate and how much is consumed. The operationalised DV would be the participants mood on the scale of 1 to 10

Question 3

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 3

A precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of an investigation.

The hypothesis tells us what we are investigating.

Must be operationalised (eg eating 250g of milk chocolate will mean that participants are significantly more likely to score higher on a mood scale from 1 - 10 than if they have not consumed chocolate)

Question 4

Two types of hypotheses?

Answer 4

• Null hypothesis (No effect)

- Alternative hypothesis (there will be an effect)

Question 5

Two types of alternative hypothesis?

Answer 5

• Non-directional (there will be an effect)

- Directional (states the direction, increase or decrease)