aims and hypotheses

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

a general statement about the purpose of an investigation

Question 2

hypothesis

Answer 2

a precise, testable statement about the expected outcome of the experiment.

Question 3

null hypothesis

Answer 3

a hypothesis that states that there will be no relationship between two variables that are being studied.

Question 4

alternative hypothesis

Answer 4

a hypothesis that states that there will be a relationship between two variables that are being studied.

Question 5

directional hypothesis (1 tailed)

Answer 5

a hypothesis regarding a positive or negative change, relationship, or difference between two variables.

Question 6

non-directional (2 tailed)

Answer 6

a hypothesis that predicts the IV will have an effect on the DV, but the direction of the effect is not specifically specified.

Question 7

operationalising

Answer 7

means making something clear or unambiguous. Operationalising a variable is the process of devising a clear way of measuring something so that another person knows exactly what you have done.

Question 8

variables

Answer 8

quite simply the things we measure or manipulate in psychology

Question 9

independent variable

Answer 9

this one the experimenter manipulates and is assumed to have direct effect on the dependent variable

Question 10

dependent variable

Answer 10

This is the factor or variable that the experimenter measures. however some variables cannot be kept constant and these are extraneous or confounding variables

Question 11

extraneous and confounding variables

Answer 11

They might be important enough to provide alternative explanations for the effects.