The Experimental Method

AQA A-Level Psychology - Research Methods.

Non experimental research methods

Research methods that do not involve manipulating variables or establishing cause and effect relationships.

Independent Variable (IV)

The condition or factor being manipulated in an experiment.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable being measured or observed in an experiment, which is affected by the independent variable.

Operationalization

The process of defining and specifying the variables in a study to ensure replicability.

Hypothesis

A statement predicting the potential results of a study.

Experimental/ Alternative Hypothesis

An educated guess based on research, specifying the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Directional/ One tailed Hypothesis

A hypothesis that predicts the direction of the expected results.

Non Directional/ Two Tailed Hypothesis

A hypothesis that predicts an effect without specifying the direction of the expected results.

Null Hypothesis

A hypothesis that states there will be no effect or relationship between variables.

Cause - Effect Relationship

The establishment of a relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable to determine if the IV has an effect on the DV.

Examples of non-experimental research methods

Interview/ Questionnaire

Observation

Case study

Correlations

Content analysis