aims and hypotheses

• Null hypothesis (H0)


  There is no difference between the conditions or no relationship between the variables
• Alternate hypothesis (H1)


  There is a difference between the conditions
• Non-directional hypothesis


  States that there is a difference but not which way the direction will go
• Directional hypothesis


  States that there is a difference and how the results will go
• We should not use the word "proven" in science as it implies 100% certainty, which is not possible
• In psychology, we accept the alternate hypothesis when the probability that the results are a fluke is 1 in 20 or less
• Accepting an alternate hypothesis means the evidence is not perfect but strong enough to accept it for now
• aim


  a general statement about the purpose of the research
• an aim can be phrased as either a question or statement.
• Each research study specifies aims and hypotheses. An aim is what it is trying to achieve, while a hypothesis is a specific prediction of what it will find.
• hypothesis


  a precise, testable statement. The hypothesis should always include the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV).
• example of a hypothesis

  there is a difference between the number of words recalled by participants in blue light compared to participants recalling in green light
• hypotheses are not predictions, they are statements of fact. the researcher accepts or rejects a hypothesis based on the data collected