Aims, Hypothesis, IVs and DVs

Research question

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

Aim

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 and precise prediction about the difference or relationship between the variables in the 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…’