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By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
The aim is a simple statement that explains why a researcher is doing a study and what they hope to find out. Think of it as the "goal" of the research.
Example: "To investigate whether caffeine affects how quickly people react."
A hypothesis is a specific prediction — the researcher states exactly what they think will happen before the study begins.
There are four types of hypothesis you need to know:
Directional (one-tailed) hypothesis — Predicts the direction of the result (e.g., says something will be higher, lower, more, or less).
Example: "People who drink coffee will have faster reaction times than people who drink water."
Non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis — Predicts that there will be a difference or relationship, but does NOT say which direction.
Example: "There will be a difference in reaction times between people who drink coffee and people who drink water."
Experimental hypothesis — Used when the study has an independent variable (like a lab experiment). It predicts the effect of the IV on the DV.
Alternative hypothesis — Used in non-experimental studies like correlations. It predicts a relationship between two variables.
Null hypothesis — Predicts that the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable. It basically says "nothing significant will happen." Researchers try to disprove this.
Example: "There will be no difference in reaction times between people who drink coffee and people who drink water."
Before a study begins, the researcher must operationalise their variables. This means defining them clearly and specifically so they can actually be measured.
Think of it like a recipe — you can't just say "add some flour." You need to say "add 200g of plain flour."
Example of poor operationalisation: "Measure stress." Example of good operationalisation: "Measure stress using a score out of 100 on a self-report questionnaire."
Every operationalised variable should include:
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