idk where these go

• Aim

  A general statement made by the researcher which tells us what they plan on investigating, the purpose of their study
• Hypothesis


  A precise statement which clearly states the relationship between the variables being investigated
• Types of hypotheses

  • Non-directional
  • Directional
• Operationalisation


  The act of a researcher clearly defining the variables in terms of how they are being measured
• Demand characteristics

  Any cue the researcher or the research situation may give which makes the participant feel like they can guess the aim of the investigation
• Participant reactivity


  Participants changing their behaviour to fit the situation rather than acting naturally
• Investigator effects


  Any unwanted influence from the researcher's behaviour, either conscious or unconscious, on the DV measured
• Randomisation


  The use of chance to reduce the effects of bias from investigator effects
• Standardisation


  Using the exact same formalised procedures and instructions for every single participant involved in the research process
• Control group/condition


  Sets a baseline whereby results from the experimental condition can be compared to results from this one
• If there is a significantly greater change in the experimental group compared to the control then the researcher is able to conclude that the cause of effect was the IV
• When forming a behavioural categories list, it is important to make sure that behaviours do not overlap with other behaviours, so very similar behaviours should not be listed
• Behavioural categories should be clearly operationalised
• A directional hypothesis states whether there will be a negative or positive correlation between the co-variables being studies whilst a non-directional hypothesis only states there will be a correlation but the type is unknown
• Normal distribution


  A symmetrical pattern of frequency data that forms a bell-shaped pattern
• Skewed distribution

  • A spread of frequency data that is not symmetrical, instead the data all clusters to one end
  • Positive skew: most of the distribution of data is concentrated on the right
  • Negative skew: most of the data distribution is concentrated on the left
• Fraudulent research can be long-lasting which is a large problem
• Nominal data


  A type of data that is in the form of categories, it is discrete- one item can only appear in one category, it does not enable sensitive analysis as it does not yield a numerical result for each participant
• Ordinal data


  Data which is represented in a ranking form, there are no equal intervals between each unit, it lacks precision as is based on the subjective opinion of people
• Interval data


  Data that is based on numerical scales which include equal units of precisely defined size, it is the most sophisticated form of data as it is based on objective measures, it is needed for the use of a parametric test
• Appropriate measures for each level of data

  • Nominal: Mode
  • Ordinal: Median, Range
  • Interval: Mean, Standard Deviation
• Choosing an Inferential Statistical Test:

  When choosing an inferential statistical test you have to think about three factors:

  • The design of the study - Did it involve an unrelated design which is of the independent groups design? Did it involve a related design which could be either using the repeated measures or matched pair experimental design?
  • The level of data collected during the study - either ordinal, nominal or interval
  • Whether a difference or correlation is being measured