The general question you wish to answer in your experiment
Independent variable
Is what you manipulate in the experiment. The thing we change
dependent variable
Is what you measure in the experiment
Operationalisation
strictly defining the variables into measurable factors
Hypothesis
An idea derived from psychological theory which contains a prediction which can be verified and refuted by an experiment. It is an prediction.
Directional hypothesis
This hypothesis will indicate which direction the results will go (used when there has been previous research).
Non-directional Hypothesis:
This would state that there would be a difference between the two conditions but wouldn’t specify which direction it would go (used when there has been no previous research and researcher is unsure which way the results will go).
Null Hypothesis:
This is accepted at the end of an experiment if there has been found to be no difference between the two conditions.
Experimental design:
The process of how we arrange the conditions of our experiment.
Matched pairs design:
Two equal groups of participants are used, one for each condition. However, participants are matched based on key variables.
Repeated measures design:
Only one group of participants is used. This group does both conditions of the experiment.
Independent groups design:
A separate group of participants used for each condition of the experiment.
Standardisation:
Everything you say must be scripted in advance and the same across all conditions. This method will ensure fairness across both conditions.
