Learning Activity 7.

1
1. Explain the meaning of the phrase operationalising the IV and DV with
reference to an example.
Turning the IV and DV into procedures or examples, or actions that can be
observed or measured.
2. What is an operational hypothesis?
An operational hypothesis is a research hypothesis that refers to how the
variables being studied will be observed, manipulated and measured.
3. List the key characteristics of an operational hypothesis.
the IV is described in operationalised terms: continuously listening
to loud rock music throughout a one hour session
the DV is described in operationalised terms: the number of
previously unseen written problems that are solved
the population from which the sample is drawn is stated: Year 11
VCE students
How the experiment will be conducted is stated: one group will
listen to loud rock music when problem-solving (experimental
group) and another group will not listen to loud rock music when
problem-solving (control group).
4. What are two benefits of using an operational hypothesis for a research
study?
Firstly, it is only when the experimenter has precisely defined the
variables that the experiment can actually be carried out.
Secondly, when the variables are defined in such a precise way,
another researcher interested in the results or perhaps even
doubting them, will be able to repeat the experiment in order to test
(check) the results obtained.
5. Write an operational hypothesis for two of the following research topics:
Does regular exercise improve psychological wellbeing?
Year 11 students that exercised every morning for one hour found that
their psychological wellbeing during the rest of the day was more positive.
One group will exercise for one hour each morning and another group will
not exercise for one hour each morning.
Do people drive less safely when feeling stressed?
Year 12 students that were under stress from exams found that they drove
less safely on a driving course than Year 12 students who were not feeling
stressed.

Learning Activity 7.3

1. The effect of praise on the frequency of answering questions in class

Some students may be shy and not want to raise their hand to answer a
question.
2. The effect of alcohol on performance of a memory task
Everyone has different alcohol tolerance levels so some people may
become more intoxicated quicker than others.
3. The effect of amount of time spent studying on exam performance
Some people find studying comes quicker to them and wont need to do as
much while others find it difficult to memorise things.
4. The effect of reading books on performance on crossword puzzles
Motivation