4.2.3.1 - Aims

The Purpose of an Aim

Every psychological investigation begins with a purpose. Before a researcher chooses participants, writes materials or collects data, they need to be clear about what the study is trying to find out. That broad purpose is the aim.

A good aim is broad enough to describe the whole investigation, but focused enough to guide the method. For example:

To investigate whether background music affects recall of psychology key terms.

This is an aim because it tells us the area of interest: background music and recall. It does not yet predict what the researcher expects to happen.

Researchers often turn an aim into a hypothesis once they are ready to make a clearer prediction. Exploratory research can instead be guided by an aim or research question without a directional prediction.

A phrase like "music and memory" is too vague to be a strong aim. It names a topic, but it does not say what will be investigated. A phrase like "students who hear music will recall fewer key terms" is a hypothesis rather than an aim, because it predicts a particular outcome. A non-directional statement such as “there will be a difference in recall” also predicts an outcome, even though it does not say which group will recall more.

In AQA research methods, this small wording distinction matters because aims are part of the scientific process. They come before detailed predictions, procedures and data analysis.

Stating Aims Clearly

When you are asked to state an aim, write one clear sentence. Useful openings include:

• To investigate whether...
• To investigate the effect of...
• To investigate the relationship between...
• To explore...

The wording depends on the kind of research. In an experiment, the aim often refers to whether one factor affects another. In a correlation, the aim often refers to a relationship between two factors. In an interview or questionnaire study, the aim may refer to exploring attitudes, beliefs or experiences.

Aim statements often mention the key variables, but they do not need to include every operational detail. Compare these examples:

The function of the sentence matters more than its opening words. “To investigate whether music improves recall” still asks a question rather than asserting a finding, but neutral wording makes the distinction clearer and avoids building in a preferred result. “There will be a difference” is a prediction even without words such as “higher” or “lower”.

Turning an idea into an aim

Suppose a researcher has only diary records of daily phone use and sleep duration. Start with the topic, “phones and sleep”, then ask what those records can show. They provide two measured variables, so a suitable aim is “To investigate the relationship between daily phone use and sleep duration.” The records cannot by themselves establish that phones cause sleep loss: tired people might use their phones more, or exam workload might affect both. The aim should match that limit before the researcher writes a prediction.

Aims and Hypotheses

An aim tells us what the researcher intends to investigate. A hypothesis goes further: it turns the aim into a testable prediction about the outcome.

The difference is easiest to see by comparing pairs of statements.