Aims, Research Questions and Hypotheses
Component 01: Research Methods · Planning Psychological Research · Aims, hypotheses and variables
Aim
A general statement of what a study intends to investigate.
Research question
A question stating the relationship or difference the researcher wants to investigate.
Null hypothesis
A testable prediction that there will be no effect, difference or relationship beyond chance.
Alternative hypothesis
A testable prediction that an effect, difference or relationship will occur.
Directional hypothesis
Predicts the direction of a difference or relationship.
Non-directional hypothesis
Predicts a difference or relationship without stating its direction.
OCR rewards hypotheses that are operationalised: the variables must be defined so another researcher could identify exactly what was measured.
Example
Instead of 'noise affects memory', write: 'Participants completing a 20-word recall task in silence will recall more words than participants completing the same task with café noise.'
Examiner Tip
Include the population where the question requires it and make both variables measurable.