Aims, Hypothesis, IVs and DVs

Research question

e.g. ‘Does hunger affect memory for food-related words?’

Aim

a general statement of what the the researcher intends to investigate, the purpose of the study

e.g. ‘To examine the effect of hunger on memory of food-related words’

Independent variable

the variable the researcher manipulates and which is assumed to have a direct effect on the DV

Dependent variable

variable the researcher measures. The variable that is affected by changes in the IV

hypothesis

a clear, testable and precise statement about the difference or relationship between the variables in the study. Stated at the outset of any study

should always contain an operationalised IV and DV

there are 2 types: directional and non directional

operationalisation

describes how a variable is clearly defined by the researcher. Can be applied to IVs, DVs or co-variables

directional hypothesis

predicts the nature of the difference between variables

based on past research

‘one tailed’

e.g. ‘people who…’

non-directional hypothesis

predicts that a difference will exist between 2 or more variables without predicting the exact direction

‘two tailed’

‘there will be a difference…’