What makes a good hypothesis?
What makes a good hypothesis? To aid students in evaluating ideas, discuss
table 3.5 or use Handout
3.4. In addition, explain why psychologists see certain research ideas
as more meaningful and interesting than others. If you emphasize that "interesting"
research ideas are manageable in scope, make specific predictions, and
have implications beyond the immediate study (the finding relates to theory,
to other studies, or to other behaviors rather than being an isolated fact),
you may be spared from a class full of students saying things like "I want
to do a study to see if drinking alcohol affects card-playing."
Another strategy is to have them try to convert general questions into
testable research hypotheses using the following tutorial.
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