RM: pilot studies, aims, hypothesis and variables

What is a pilot study?

A pilot study is a small scale trial run of a research design with few participants before doing the real experiment

Why are pilot studies done for experimental and non-experimental research?

Pilot studies are done in order to find out if certain aspects of the design do or do not work and to identify any adjustments that need to be made

What do pilot studies allow the researcher to test?

Pilot studies allow the researcher to test the effectiveness and make improvements of their experiment since they help identify potential issues early.

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What are variables?

Variables are aspects of the research that we alter when we conduct experiment

Why should the researcher aim to control all other factors that effect the DV?

The researcher should aim to control all other factors so they can be confident that the cause of the effect on the DV was the IV and the IV alone

Why does the DV and IV not feature in correlational studies?

Because variables are not manipulated. Correlations measure naturally occurring relationships, so there is no cause-and-effect distinction between independent and dependent variables.

How does a psychologist operationalise a variable?

A psychologist operationalises a variable by turning it from a vague concept into something measurable and testable. This means defining exactly how the variable will be measured or manipulated in a study.

What do research method have to meet the standards of research method?

Research methods have clear aim and testable hypothesis

What is an aim?

An aim is the stated intentions of the research.

How is an aim developed?

An aim is developed from theories that allows the researcher to focus their research and pinpoint specific questions to be answered

What is an hypothesis?

An hypothesis is a testable statement that is made at the start of study by the researcher that predicts the outcome of the research.

What does an hypothesis being ‘fully operationalised’ mean?

A hypothesis is fully operationalised when all the variables are defined in a way that they can be measured or manipulated. This means:

Example of a fully operationalised hypothesis

“people under 25 years will have better short-term memory recall of a word list than people aged over 60 years”

What is a directional hypothesis?

The researcher makes a clear the sort of difference that is anticipated between the conditions

Why do directional hypothesis tend to have a clear direction?

Directional hypothesis usually gave previous research in the area to support that direction

What is a non-directional hypothesis?

A non-directional hypothesis simply states that there will be a difference between the conditions or a group of people but the nature of the difference is not specified

Why do non-directional hypothesis not have a specified difference?

In non-directional hypothesis, the researcher doesn’t have enough prior evidence or theory to predict whether the effect will be positive or negative, so they just test for any significant difference in either direction.