Research methods
Experiment
a research method where casual conclusions can be drawn because an independent variable has been deliberately manipulated to observe the casual affect on the dependent variable
Aims
a statement of what the researcher(s) intend to find out in a research study
Hypothesis
A clear, precise, testable statement thats states the relationship between the variables to be investigated.
Stated at the outset of any study.
Directional hypothesis
states the direction of the difference or relationship
Non-directional hypothesis
does not state the direction
Standardised procedures
a set of procedures that are the same for all participants in order to be able to repeat the study. This includes standardised instructions - the instructions given to participants to tell them how to perform the task.
Variables
any 'thing' that can vary or change within an investigation.
Variables are generally used in experiments to determine if change in one thing result in changes to another
Dependent variable
the variable measured by the experimenter
Independent variable
some event that is directly manipulated by the experimenter in order to test its effect on another variable - the dependent variable.
Operationalisation
ensuring that variables are in a form that can be easily tested. A concept such as ' educational attainment' needs to be specified more clearly if we are going to investigate it. For example, it might be operationalised as 'GSCE grade in maths'