Deciding on a Research Question

Question 1

What are aims?

Answer 1

Establish what the researcher is treying to find out

A good aim is focused, feasible, researchable, and specific

Question 2

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 2

Predictive statement about what the researcher expects to find

Question 3

What is a one tailed directional hypothesis?

Answer 3

States that the IV will affect the DV and states exactly what the effect will be

Used when a researcher is confident about what they expect to find

Question 4

What is a two tailed non-directional hypothesis?

Answer 4

States the IV will affect the DV but not how

Used when previous research is inconclusive or a newer area of investigation

Question 5

What is a null hypothesis?

Answer 5

Predicts that there will be no difference between to conditions

Question 6

What are independent variables?

Answer 6

What is being manipulated by the researcher

Question 7

What are dependent variables?

Answer 7

What is being measured by the researcher

Question 8

What are co-variables?

Answer 8

Two variables being measured within correlational research

Question 9

What is operationalisation?

Answer 9

Defining of key variables in an objective, measurable way

Question 10

What are extraneous variables?

Answer 10

Unwanted variables that may affect the DV, which are consistent, affect all participants equally and often linked to a design flaw

Question 11

What are confounding variables?

Answer 11

Unwanted variables that may affect the DV, which are inconsistent and affect only some participants