research meothods

• what is a hypothesis

  a prediction made about possible outcomes
• what are the three types of hypothesis'

  .directional

  .non-directional

  .null
• what is a directional hypothesis

  where it states that the IV will have an affect on the DV and states the direction of this effect
• when would a directional hypothesis be used?

  .when previous research has been done on a topic that has found conclusions
• what is a non-directional hypothesis

  where the DV and IV will have an affect on each other , but would not state what the effect would be
• when would a non directional hypothesis?

  when no previous research has been done on a subject
• what is a null hypothesis

  if there is an affect between the DV and IV then its up to chance and not from any effects from the experiment
• what is an interview

  an interview is engaging in direct conversation with an individual to gather information about their opinions, behaviour, ect}~
• what is the advantages of using interviews?

  .can gain qualitive information

  .allows participants to freely express themselves

  . allows in-depth exploration of topics
• what is the disadvantages of interviews?

  .time consuming

  .difficult to analyse

  .participants may not be honest, therefore results may not be accurate
• what is an observation

  directly witnessing and recording information in a natural setting
• what is the advantage of using observations

  .captures natural behaviour

  .provides rich detailed data
• what is the disadvantages of using observations

  .potential observer bias

  . demand characteristics may lead to distorted data
• what is the Hawthorne effect

  people changing their behaviour when they're aware of being watched
• what is a questionnaire

  series of questions designed to gather information
• advantages of questionnaires

  .large-scale data collection

  .time efficient

  .anonymous
• disadvantage of questionnaires

  questions may be misinterpreted

  .lack of context
• what is lavatory research

  an experiment taken place in a highly controlled setting
• advantage of lavatory research

  .provides high levels of control, allowing for a higher accuracy

  .results can be duplicated

  .less time consuming
• disadvantage of lavatory research

  .participants can be influenced by situation

  .becomes artificial (aren't life like) due to controlled settings