Research Methods: Aims and Hypotheses Flashcards
What is an aim
The aim states the purpose of the study
What is a null hypothesis
The is what you’re going to assume is true during the study
Any data you collect will either back this assumption up, or it won’t
This is often a prediction that there will be no relationship between the key variables in a study, or there will be no difference in the scores of different conditions of an experiment
What happens if the data doesn’t support the null hypothesis
If the data doesn’t support your null hypothesis,you reject it and go with the alternative hypothesis instead
What is an alternative hypothesis
If the data forces you to reject your null hypothesis, then you accept your alternative hypothesis instead
E.g. if your null hypothesis was that two variables aren’t linked, then the alternative hypothesis is that they are linked
What is a directional hypothesis
A hypothesis might predict a difference between the exam results obtained by two groups of students - group that revises and a group that do not
Predicting which group will do better is a directional prediction
What is a non directional hypothesis
A non directional hypothesis would predict a difference, but wouldn’t say which group would do better
May just say there will be significant difference in exam grades between students who revise and those who don’t - doesn’t say who will do better
When are non directional hypotheses used
Can be used when there is little previous research in the area under investigation, or when previous findings are mixed and inconclusive
When are directional hypotheses used
These are used when previous research findings suggest which way the results will go
What is an independent variable
Variable directly manipulated by the researcher
In a study about students, exams and revision the two variables are revision ( yes or no ) and the other is the exam grade ( A, B, C, D, E, U)
The independent variable is whether or not a student revises - since this is directly under the control of the researcher
What is a dependent variable
The dependent variable is the variable that you think will be affected by the changes in the independent variable ( DV is dependent on the IV )
In exam grade example, the DV is the exam grade
The exam grade is dependent on whether the student revises
What is the relationship between the IV and DV in an ideal study
The only thing that would influence the DV would be the IV
However, there are usually other things that will have an effect
What is an extraneous variable
Any other variable (other than the IV) that could affect what you’re trying to measure
If these things are influencing the DV then they’re called confounding variables
What is operationalisation
This means describing the process by which the variable is measured
How are different thing operationalise
Some things can be easy to operationalise
E.g. height can be operationalised as the distance in centre metres from the bottom of an object to the top
However, other can be more difficult to operationalise
E.g. a mother’s love for her newborn baby
