Variables, aims and hypotheses

what is meant by the aim of a study

the aim of a study takes the form of a general statement covering the topic/theory/concept that will be investigated

a hypothesis is…

a testable statement written of what the researcher expects to find as a result of their study

which hypothesis predicts ‘no difference’ in conditions (IV does not affect the DV)

the null hypothesis predicts ‘no difference’ in conditions

what are the two different types of alternative hypothesis

directional and non-directional

both IV and DV in the alternative hypothesis should be

operationalised

what does it mean to operationalise

this involves specifics on how each variable is to be manipulated and measured

True or False?

A non-directional hypothesis predicts the direction of the difference in conditions.

False.

A non-directional hypothesis does not predict the direction of the difference in conditions, i.e., it simply predicts that a difference will be shown.

Which of the following is an example of a null hypothesis?

a) Drinking caffeine prior to a memory test will result in better performance on scores out of 20 than drinking water before the test

b) Drinking caffeine prior to a memory test will have no effect on scores out of 20 compared to drinking water before the test

c) Drinking caffeine prior to a memory test will result in worse performance on scores out of 20 than drinking water before the test

B

Drinking caffeine prior to a memory test will have no effect on scores out of 20 compared to drinking water before the test is an example of a null hypothesis.

True or False?

Hypotheses for correlational investigations are written in the same way as experimental hypotheses, apart from one crucial difference.

True.

Hypotheses for correlational investigations are written in the same way as experimental hypotheses, apart from one crucial difference.

Instead of using the term difference, the term relationship/correlation is used .

Which one of the following is a correlational non-directional hypothesis?

a) There will be a difference between the number of cups of caffeine drunk and the number of hours slept per night across one week

b) There will be a relationship between the number of cups of caffeine drunk and the number of hours slept per night across one week

c) There will be a positive/negative relationship between the number of cups of caffeine drunk and the number of hours slept per night across one week

b.

There will be a relationship between the number of cups of caffeine drunk and the number of hours slept per night across one week is a non-directional correlational hypothesis.

True or False?

It is not possible to have a dependent variable consisting of qualitative data.

True.

It is not possible to have a dependent variable consisting of qualitative data.

This is because the way the dependent variable is measured can only take some form of numerical data, which can then be displayed in a graph and analysed statistically.