research methods - psych205...ranging from ‐9 to +9 to indicate their change in happiness. for...

Joseph Sparks & Anne Cooper

AQA A Level Psychology

Design a study solutions

Research Methods

AQA A LEVEL Psychology design a study solutions: RESEARCH METHODS

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EXPERIMENT: EXERCISE AND HAPPINESS Design an experiment to investigate whether exercise could increase feelings of happiness. For your measure of happiness, you should devise a measure that would provide data suitable for testing at an ordinal level of measurement. In your answer, you should provide details of: Design – include reference to experimental design, variables and controls Materials/Apparatus – describe any special materials required Data analysis that could be used – include reference to both descriptive and inferential analysis

Justify your choices.

[12 marks] Design–ExperimentaldesignForthisexperiment,anindependentgroupsdesignwillbeused.Anindependentgroupsdesignwillbeappropriateinordertoreduceordereffects,inparticularpracticeeffectswhichcouldleadtodemandcharacteristics,wheretheparticipantsworkouttheaimofexperiment:theeffectofexerciseonhappiness.Design–VariablesTheindependentvariableisexercise(30minutesexercisevs.noexercise)andthedependentvariableisthechangeinhappiness,measuredviaaquestionnairewhichwillrequireparticipantstoratetheirhappinessonascaleof1‐10(with1beingveryunhappyand10beingveryhappy)atthestartandendoftheircondition.Achangeinhappinessscorewillbecalculated(rangingfrom‐9to+9),providingordinaldata.Design–ControlsInordertocontrolindividualdifferences(e.g.existinglevelsofhappiness)allparticipantswillcompletethequestionnaireatthestartandendoftheircondition.Inconditionone,participantswillcompletethequestionnaireandbeaskedtowaitinawaitingroomfor30minutesbeforecompletingitagain.Inconditiontwo,participantswillcompletethequestionnaireandthenbeaskedtoengagein30minutesoflightexerciseonatreadmill(walkingoraslowjog),beforecompletingthequestionnaireagain.Allparticipantswillcompletethequestionnaireinthewaitingroomtoensurethattheroomhasnoeffectontheirscores.Toensuretimeofdayhasnoeffectonscores,allparticipantswilltakepartintheexperimentinthemorning(9amto11am).Materials/ApparatusAquestionnaireassessinghappinesswillbecreated,containingquestionstoobtaindemographicinformation(age,gender,occupation,etc.)andthekeyquestion:howyouwouldrateyourcurrentlevelofhappinessonascaleof1‐10,with1=veryunhappy

Theexperimentaldesignhasbeenoutlinedandjustifiedappropriately.TheIVandDVhavebeenclearlystatedandjustified.Threedifferentaspectsofcontrolhavebeenpresentedandoutlinedclearlyinrelationtothisexperiment.Anappropriatequestionnairehas

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and10=veryhappy.Atreadmill(inthePEdepartment)willalsobeusedinwhichtheparticipantsinconditiontwowillbeencouragedtosetabriskwalkingpaceorslowjog.Awaitingarea(nexttothePEdepartment)willbeusedforparticipantsinconditiononeandforallparticipantstocompletetheirquestionnaireatthestartandendoftheircondition.DataanalysisThedatagatheredwillincludeascoreforeachoftheparticipantsrangingfrom‐9to+9toindicatetheirchangeinhappiness.Forexample: Condition1

(Noexercise)–Changeinhappinessscore

Condition2

(Exercise)–Changeinhappinessscore

1 0 11 42 0 12 53 ‐1 13 34 1 14 65 2 15 56 ‐2 16 07 1 17 08 0 18 59 1 19 610 ‐1 20 3Descriptivestatisticscouldincludethemedian(themiddlevalueineachcondition)andrange(calculatedbysubtractingthelowestvaluefromthehighest).Intermsofinferentialanalysis,aMannWhitneyUtestwillbeappropriateasthisisatestofdifferencebetweenconditions,thedataisatleastanordinallevelofmeasurementandanindependentgroupsdesignisused.[Approx.500Words]

beencreatedtogeneratetherequiredordinaldata.Otherapparatushasalsobeenoutlined.Whileatableisn’tnecessary,itdemonstratesclearunderstandingofhowthedatawillbegatheredandinformstheanalysisbelow.Whiletheanswerhasstatedthemedianandrange(whicharecorrect),thesecouldhavebeenjustifiedinlightofthelevelofmeasurement.Theinferentialtestshavebeenappropriatelyselected.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheexperimenthasbeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisexperiment.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofexperimentaldesignanddataanalysisandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



EXPERIMENT: MUSIC AND TASK PERFORMANCE Design an experiment using a repeated measures design that can be carried out in a classroom. The aim is to investigate whether listening to music affects task performance (e.g. while completing a word search or a spot the differences puzzle). In your answer, you should provide details of: The operationalised IV, DV and controls The sample and the sampling technique The procedure that could be used – there should be enough detail for the study to be carried out

[12 marks]

OperationalisedIVandDVTheindependentvariableiswhethertheparticipantlistenedtomusic(classicalmusicwithnolyrics)ornot(silentcondition)whilecompletingawordsearch.Thedependentvariableisthetimetaken(inseconds)tofindfivewordsinawordsearchpuzzle.ControlsInordertocontrolordereffects(e.g.practiceeffects,whichmightmaketheparticipantscompletethesecondwordsearchfaster)counterbalancingwillbeused:halfoftheparticipantswillcompletethefirstpuzzlelisteningtomusicandthesecondpuzzleinsilence,andtheotherhalfwillcompletethefirstpuzzleinsilenceandthesecondpuzzlelisteningtomusic.Thiswillbedoneusingrandomallocation,meaningthatanyordereffectswillbebalancedacrossbothconditions.Participantswillcompletebothpartsofthetaskwearingnoisecancellingheadphonestoensurethattheyareincompletesilenceforthesilentcondition,andtoensurethatwearingheadphonesisnotaconfoundingvariable.Thesamepieceofclassicalmusicwillbeusedforallparticipantsasdifferentpiecesofmusicmayaffectlevelsofconcentration.Twodifferentwordsearchpuzzleswithequaldifficultlywillbeused.Inordertoselectthetwowordsearchpuzzlesarangeofpuzzleswillbecompletedbyanothergroupofpeople.Theaveragetimetakentocompletethepuzzleswillbecalculatedandthetwopuzzleswiththemostsimilartimeswillbeselected.SampleandsamplingtechniqueAsampleof20sixthformstudentswillbeusedforthisexperiment.Theywillbeselectedusingavolunteersamplingmethod.Anoticewillbeplacedonthestudentnoticeboardinasixthformcollegeaskingforvolunteerstotakepartinapsychologyexperimenttoinvestigatefactorsthatinfluenceconcentration.Thefirst20participantstorespondtothee‐mailaddressprovidedwillbecomethesample.Procedure

TheIVandDVhavebeenclearlystatedandoperationalised.Fourdifferentaspectsofcontrolhavebeenoutlinedclearlyandexplainedinrelationtothisexperiment.Themostimportantcontrolisthecounterbalancingasthisisarepeatedmeasuresdesign.Anappropriatesampleandsamplingtechniquehasbeenselectedandjustified.



Participantswillbeinvitedtoaclassroomatanallottedtimebetween9amand11am.Materialsusedwillbetwowordsearchpuzzles,apen,aniPodcontainingtheclassicalmusic,andasetofheadphones.Theywillbeshownintotheclassroom,seatedatadeskandgivenstandardisedinstructionstoreadandaconsentformtosign.Theinstructionswilloutlinewhatwillhappenduringthestudy:theywillbecompletingtwowordsearchpuzzles,eitherwhilelisteningmusicorinsilence.Whentheyhavecompletedeachpuzzle,theyshouldputdowntheirpentoindicatethattheyhavefinished.Theywillthenbeaskedtoputontheheadphonesandadjusttoacomfortablevolumetosuittheirhearing.Iftheyarecompletingthemusicconditionfirst,thenthefirstpuzzlewillbegiventothemandtheexperimenterwillswitchonthemusicandbegintimingusingastopwatch.Whentheyputdowntheirpenonthetable,theexperimenterwillstoptimingandswitchthemusicoff.Theywillthenbegiventhesecondpuzzle(tobecompletedinsilence)andtheexperimenterwillbegintimingthem.Whentheyputtheirpenonthedesktheexperimenterwillstoptimingandtheywillbethankedanddebriefed.Iftheyarecompletingthesilentconditionfirstthenthetaskswillbetheotherwayaround.[Approx.500Words]

Althoughthetimeofdayandthematerialsarenotaskedforspecifically,theyareimportantdetailssomeonewouldneedtoknowtoimplementthestudy;theyalsohelptoclarifytheprocedure.Theprocedureisclearlyexplainedintermsofwhateachparticipantisrequiredtodo.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheexperimenthasbeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisexperiment.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofexperimentaldesignandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



EXPERIMENT: WRITTEN AND SPOKEN INFORMATION Design an experiment to test whether people who are given written information remember more than people who hear information in a spoken form. You must refer to/provide details of: Design – include reference to experimental design, variables and controls The sample and sampling technique Materials/Apparatus – describe any special materials required An outline of the proposed procedure

[12 marks] Design–ExperimentaldesignAnindependentgroupsdesignwillbeused.Thiswillbeappropriateinordertoreduceordereffects,inparticularpracticeeffectswhichwilloccurifpeopleweregiventhesameinformationtwice–onceinwrittenformandagaininspokenform.Design–VariablesTheindependentvariableiswhethertheinformation(ashortstory)isreadouttotheparticipants,ortheyreaditforthemselves.Thedependentvariableisthescoreoutof10onatestof10questionsinrelationtothestory.Design–ControlsAlltheparticipantswillbeprovidedwiththesamestory.Thegrouphearingthestoryoutloudwillhearthesamerecordingofsomeonereadingthestory.Theparticipantsreadingthestoryforthemselveswillbeprovidedwiththestoryinthesamefontandsizeonwhitepaper.Alltheparticipantswillbegiventhesamelengthoftimetoreadthestory,whichwillbedeterminedbythelengthoftherecordingfortheothercondition(5minutes).Thisisimportantasifthereadinggrouphavemoretimetoprocesstheinformationthiscouldleadtoanimprovementinmemory.Bothgroupswillalsobegiventhesameamountoftime(3minutes)toanswerthequestions.Participantswillberandomlyallocatedtothetwoconditionstotrytoensurethatanyindividualdifferencesarebalancedacrossthetwoconditions.Thesampleandsamplingtechnique40collegestudentsaged16‐18willbeused,20ineachcondition.Theywillbeselectedusinganopportunitysamplingmethodbybeingapproachedwhileinthecollegecanteenandaskedwhethertheywillbewillingtotakepart.Materials/ApparatusAnovelshortstory(500words)willbeused.ThiswilleitherbeprintedonpaperorrecordedonaniPod.Astopwatchwillbeusedtotimethegroupreadingforthemselves.Amemorytestmadeupof10

Theexperimentaldesignhasbeenoutlinedandjustifiedappropriately.TheIVandDVhavebeenclearlyoperationalised.Threedifferentaspectsofcontrolhavebeenpresentedandoutlinedclearlyinrelationtothisexperiment.Thisisanappropriatesampleandsamplingtechnique.Thematerialsrequiredareexplainedclearly.



questionsaboutthestorywillalsoberequired.Standardisedinstructionswillbeproducedtoexplaintotheparticipantswhattheyneedtodo.OutlineofpossibleprocedureThewritteninformationgroupwillallbetestedtogether.Theywillbeseatedinaclassroomwithtwosheetsofpaperfacedownonthedesk.Standardisedinstructionswillbereadoutandtheywillbeinstructedtoturnoverthefirstsheetofpaperandreadthestorywhilebeingtimedfor5minutes.Theywillthenbetoldtoputthatsheetbackonthedeskfacedownandturnthesecondsheetoverandanswerthe10questions.Theywillbeallowed3minutestodothisbeforebeingthankedanddebriefed.Thespokeninformationgroupwillallbetestedtogether.Theywillbeseatedinthesameclassroomwithtwosheetsofpaperfacedownonthedesk.Standardisedinstructionswillbereadoutandtheywillbeinstructedtoturnoverthefirstsheetofpaperandtherecordingwillbegin.Whentherecordingfinishes,theywillbetoldtoputthatsheetbackonthedeskfacedownandturnthesecondsheetoverandanswerthe10questions.Theywillbeallowed3minutestodothisbeforebeingthankedanddebriefed.[Approx.500Words]

Theprocedureforbothconditionsisveryclearandwouldallowthestudytobeimplemented.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheexperimenthavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisexperiment.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofexperimentaldesignandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



QUASI‐EXPERIMENT: MUSICAL ABILITY Design a quasi‐experiment to investigate whether there is a difference in the musical ability of left‐handed students and right‐handed students in a sixth form college. You must provide details of: The experimental design An appropriate sampling method and justification The procedure that could be used, including details of how musical ability would be assessed A suitable debrief for the participants

[12 marks] ExperimentaldesignTocontrolindividualdifferencesinthisquasi‐experiment,amatchedpairsdesignwouldbeusedbecauserepeatedmeasuresisnotappropriate,astheparticipantscanonlyberight‐orleft‐handed.Theparticipantscouldbematchedintermsofgenderandsubjectsstudied.Oncealeft‐handedparticipanthasvolunteeredthenaright‐handedpersonofthesamegenderandwhotakesthesamesubjectscouldbecometheirmatched‐pair.SamplingmethodVolunteersamplingwouldbeused.Posterswouldbeplacedinthestudentsocialareasofasixthformcollegeaskingforvolunteerstocontacttheresearcherbye‐mailiftheywereinterestedintakingpartinastudytoinvestigatedifferencesbetweenright‐handedandleft‐handedpeople.Thiswouldbeanappropriatemethodasitmightbedifficulttofindasufficientnumberofleft‐handedparticipantsusingrandomoropportunitysamplingmethods.ProcedureTheparticipantswouldbeindividuallyinvitedtoaclassroominthecollegeatanallottedtime.Thiswouldalwaysbethesameclassroomandwouldbeinaquietareaofthecollegesotherewouldbenooutsidenoiseorotherdistractions.Theywouldbeaskedtoconfirmwhethertheyareright‐orleft‐handedanditwouldbeexplainedthatoneoftheabilitiesbeingexaminedismusicalabilityandtheywouldberequiredtosing.Iftheyarehappywiththis,thesamenovelpieceofmusic(onecomposedbythemusicteacher)wouldbeplayedonapianoandsungbythemusicteacherandeachparticipantwouldhavetosingitbackwhiletheteacherplayedthetuneonthepiano.Theirmusicalabilitywouldthenberatedonascaleof1–10bythemusicteacher(where1isextremelypoorand10isextremelygood).Theparticipantswouldthenbythankedanddebriefed.AsuitabledebriefThankyoufortakingpartinthisstudy.Thespecificaimoftheresearchistoinvestigatewhetherthereisadifferenceinthemusicalabilityofleft‐handedstudentsandright‐handedstudentsandthisis

Theexperimentaldesignhasbeenoutlinedandexplained.Independentgroupswouldalsobeappropriatebutwouldnotcontrolindividualdifferences.Anappropriatesamplingmethodisclearlyexplainedandjustified.Theprocedureisexplainedclearlyandinsufficientdetailforthestudytobeimplemented.Anappropriatemethodtoassessmusicalabilityhasbeendescribedthatisthesameforallstudentsandalsoexplainshowitwillbemeasured.Thisdebriefiswrittenexactlyasit



theonlyabilitywewillbetestingtoday.Thisinformationcouldnotbegivenatthebeginningofthestudyasitmayhaveaffectedyourbehaviour.Pleasebeassuredthatyourdatawillbecompletelyconfidentialandnotsharedwithanyoneotherthantheresearchteam.Ifyouareunhappywithanyaspectsofthestudy,thenyouhavetherighttowithdrawatthispointandyourresultswillbedestroyed.Doyouhaveanyquestionsyouwouldliketoask?[Approx.450Words]

wouldbereadtotheparticipantsanddealswiththeethicalissuesofinformedconsentandprotectionfromharm.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheexperimenthavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisexperiment.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofexperimentaldesignandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



QUASI‐EXPERIMENT: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND ATTENTION Imagine that you have been asked to design a quasi‐experiment to investigate whether there are gender differences in focussed attention. You decide to ask participants to find a specific letter (e.g. ‘b’) in an array of different letters, as in this example, where the task is to find the ‘b’ in an array of ‘d’s.

d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d b d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d

You decide to time the participants as they complete this task using a stop watch. Discuss the following aspects of this investigation: With reference to the letter finding task, how you would ensure that the task is the same for all

of the participants One methodological issue that needs to be taken into account when you obtain suitable

participants for this study and explain how you would deal with this issue What you would do to ensure that your participants are treated ethically How you would use inferential statistics to analyse the results of this investigation

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. Howwouldyouensurethattheletterfindingtaskisthesameforalloftheparticipants?Alloftheparticipantswouldneedtobegiventhesamegridofletters,asadifferentgridcouldincrease/decreasethedifficulty.Iwouldreadasetofstandardisedinstructionstoeachparticipantsothateveryparticipantunderstoodthetask.Iwouldalsogivethematrialgridfirsttoensurethatalltheparticipantsunderstoodthetaskbeforetheycompletedtheexperimentaltrial,asanyuncertaintyinthetaskmightaffecttheirabilitytofindtheletter.Iwouldalsotestalltheparticipantsatthesametimeofday(between9amand11am)astheletterfindingtaskrequiresconcentrationandthismightdifferatdifferenttimesoftheday.Onemethodologicalissuethatneedstobetakenintoaccountwhenyouobtainsuitableparticipantsforthisstudyandexplainhowyouwoulddealwiththisissue.Ifsomeonehadajobthatinvolvesreadingthroughtexttopickouterrors(e.g.proofreading),orspendsalotoftimecompletingsimilarpuzzles,thiscouldbecomeaconfoundingvariableastheirtimewouldbequickerregardlessofgender.Theonlywaytodealwiththisistoscreentheparticipantsbeforetheytakepartbyaskingwhethertheyspendalotoftimepickingouterrorsintext(eitherbecauseof

Threedifferentwaysofensuringthattheletterfindingtaskisthesamehavebeenidentified(samegrids,standardisedinstructionsandtimeofday).Thesehavealsobeenexplainedintermsofwhyitisimportanttokeepthemthesame.Onemethodologicalissuehasbeencorrectlyidentifiedandapracticalexplanationoffered



theirjoborasahobby).Onlypeoplewhoanswerednotothequestionwouldbeallowedtoparticipate.Whatwouldyoudotoensurethatyourparticipantsaretreatedethically?WhenIrecruittheparticipants,Iwouldgaininformedconsentandaskthemtosignaconsentform.Iwouldexplainthatthestudyisinvestigatingwhethertherearegenderdifferencesinfocussedattentionandthattheywouldberequiredtolookforthe‘oddoneout’inanarrayofletters.TherewouldbenodeceptionorwithholdingofinformationasIdon’tthinkitwouldaffectthevalidityofthefindingstogivethisinformationatthebeginningofthestudy.Iwouldalsoexplainthattheyhavetherighttowithdrawduringthestudyiftheyareunhappywiththeexperimentandthatalltheirdetailswouldbekeptconfidential.OncetheyhavetakenpartinthestudyIwouldthanktheparticipantsanddebriefthembyexplainingthepurposeoftheresearchagainandaskingwhethertheywerestillhappyformetousetheirresults.Iwouldalsoofferthemtheopportunitytoaskanyquestions.Howyouwoulduseinferentialstatisticstoanalysetheresultsofthisinvestigation?Asdatacollectedinthisstudyisinterval(ratio)level(timetakentofindtheletter),providingthedataisdrawnfromapopulationwithanormaldistributionandthevarianceofthesamplesformalesandfemalesarenotsignificantlydifferent,Iwouldusetheunrelatedt‐test.Thisisbecausethedataisratio,thestudyislookingforadifferencebetweenthetimestakenbymalesandfemales,andusesanindependentgroupsdesign(malesinonegroup,femalesintheother).However,ifthefindingsdidnotmeettherequirementsforaparametrictestthenIwoulduseaMannWhitneyUtest.[Approx.500Words]

forhowthiswouldbedealtwith.Thisanswershowsconsiderationofthethreemainethicalissues(informedconsent,deceptionandprotectionfromharm)andexplainsexactlyhowthesewillbedealtwith.Theinferentialtestshavebeenappropriatelyselectedandexplainedinrelationtothisstudy.Explainingaboutthetwotypesoftestshowsincreasedknowledgeandunderstanding.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Suggestionsarewelldetailedandpractical,showingsoundunderstandingofthedesignofanexperiment.Allfourelementsarepresent.Thereissufficientinformationformostaspectsofthestudytobeimplementedsuccessfully.Theanswerisclearandcoherentandspecialistterminologyisusedeffectively.



OBSERVATION: MOBILE PHONE USE IN PUBLIC Design a naturalistic observation study to investigate mobile phone use in a public place. In your answer, you should provide details of: Where and when you will conduct the observation and how you will sample behaviour Which behavioural categories you will use and how you will record the data Graphical representation of the data How you will deal with ethical issues

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you will…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. WhereandwhenyouwillconducttheobservationandhowyouwillsamplebehaviourThiswillbeacovert,non‐participantobservation.TheobservationswillbecarriedoutatEustonStationbetweenthehoursof8amand10amonaMonday.Iwillsitonabenchandobservethemobilephoneuseofpeoplewhopassdirectlyinfrontofme.Eventsamplingwillbeusedwhereallinstancesofmobilephonebehaviourarerecorded(seebelow).WhichbehaviouralcategoriesyouwilluseandhowyouwillrecordthedataThebehaviouralcategoriesIwilluseinclude:makingaphonecall;interactingwiththephonebutnotmakingacall(e.g.text,usingsocialmedia,etc.);andholdingphonewithoutinteraction.Iwillcollectthisdatausingatallysheet,asshownbelow.Thetotalnumberofeachbehaviourcouldthenbetotalledandusedtoproduceagraph.

Behaviour Tally TotalMakingcall Interactingwithphonebutnotmakingcall

Holdingphonebutnointeraction

GraphicalrepresentationofthedataAsthisisnominaldata(countingthenumberofinstancesofeachbehaviourusingthreecategories)anappropriategraphisabarchartasshownbelow:

Itisveryclearexactlywhereandwhentheobservationswillbeconductedandthateventsamplingwillbeused.Threebehaviouralcategoriesthatarerelevantandspecifictothisstudyhavebeenidentified.Itisusefultoincludethetallysheettomakeitclearhowthedatawillberecorded.



EthicalissuestobeconsideredAsthestudyisacovertobservationinabusystationitwillnotbepossibletogaininformedconsentfromtheparticipantsandofferthemtherighttowithdrawbeforetakingpartinthestudy.However,astheobservationistakingplaceinapublicplaceitdoescomplywithethicalguidelinesifprivacyisnotinvaded,forexample,listeningintophonecalls.Whileitwouldbetoodifficulttoofferadebrieftoalltheparticipants,Iwillputuppostersinthestationfollowingtheobservationexplainingwhattheresearchentailsandincludingmye‐mailaddresssothatpeoplecancontactmeiftheywouldlikefurtherinformation.[Approx.350Words]

Theinclusionofabarchartdemonstratesexactlyhowthedatawouldberepresented.Thisbarcharthasatitleandisclearlylabelled.Thisanswershowsconsiderationofthemainethicalissuesinvolvedincovertobservationsandoffersanexplanationforhowtheywillbedealtwith.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheobservationhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisobservationstudy.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofthesekeyfeaturesofanobservationstudyandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.

50

85

35

0102030405060708090

Makingcall Interactingwithphonebutnotmakingacall

Holdingaphonewithnointeraction

Frequency(no.ofpeople)

Typeofphoneuse

Barcharttoshowtheuseofmobilephonesinapublicplace



OBSERVATION: DIFFERENCES IN NON‐VERBAL BEHAVIOUR Design a controlled observation to investigate differences in non‐verbal behaviour (e.g. body language and gestures) of experts and non‐experts who are required to give a presentation to an audience. In your answer you should provide details of: The task for the participants and how you will decide who is an expert and who is not an

expert Which behavioural categories you will use and how will you record the data How the reliability of data might be established Ethical issues to be considered

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you will decide…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. ThetaskfortheparticipantsandhowyouwilldecidewhoisanexpertandwhoisnotanexpertForthetask,Iwillaskparticipantstopresentafive‐minutepresentationon‘Bowlby’sTheoryofAttachment’usingPowerPointslidesthatarealreadyprepared.TheexpertswillbepsychologystudentsfromasixthformcollegewhohavebeentaughtBowlby’sTheory.Thenon‐expertswillbenon‐psychologystudentsfromthesamesixthformcollege.Alltheparticipantswillbegiven15minutestofamiliarisethemselveswiththeslides.Theaudiencewillconsistoftwoobserverswhoarenotknowntoanyoftheparticipantsandthelocationwillbeaclassroominthecollegethatnoneoftheparticipantsarefamiliarwith.WhichbehaviouralcategoriesyouwilluseandhowwillyourecordthedataThebehaviouralcategoriesIwillusearehesitation(e.g.saying‘um’or‘ah’,orstoppingaltogether),smiling,frowningandarmmovements.Theseareallbehavioursthatmightbeshownbysomeonewhoispresenting.Iwillcollectthisdatausingatallysheet,asshownbelow.Thenumberofoccurrencesofeachbehaviourcouldthenbetotalled.

Behaviour Tally TotalHesitation Smiling Frowning Armmovements HowthereliabilityofthedatamightbeestablishedIwillestablishthereliabilityofthedatabyusingtwoobservers,tocheckforinter‐observerreliability.Iwilloperationalisethebehaviouralcategoriesclearlyandtraintheobserversinhowtouse

Thetaskisclearlyexplainedandtheanswerprovidescleardetailsonhowtodetermine‘experts’and‘non‐experts’.Additionaldetailsarealsoincludedthatexplainthedesign.Fourbehaviouralcategoriesthatarerelevantandspecifictothisstudyhavebeenidentifiedandjustified.Includingthetallysheetmakesitclearhowthedatawillberecorded.



thetallysheettorecordbehaviour.ThenIwillgetthembothtoobservesomeonegivingthepresentationanduseacorrelationtesttodeterminehowsimilartheirscoreswereforeachbehaviour.IfIfoundacorrelationcoefficientof.80ormorethenIwillknowthattherewasahighlevelofreliability.EthicalissuestobeconsideredAsthestudyisconductedinasixthformcollegethestudentswillbeoldenoughtogiveinformedconsent.Theycouldberecruitedusinganopportunitysamplingmethodandaskedfortheirconsenttotakepartinastudylookingatnon‐verbalbehaviourwhilegivingashortpresentation.However,fullinformationregardingdifferencesbetweenexpertsandnon‐expertscouldnotbegiveninadvanceofthepresentation,asitcouldleadtodemandcharacteristics.Participantswillbeofferedtherighttowithdrawatanypointduringthestudyanditwillbeexplainedthatthedatawillbekeptconfidential.Ifanyonebecomesanxiousorupsetwhilegivingthepresentationtheobserverswillstopthepresentationandprovidethemwiththerighttowithdraw.Whenthepresentationends,eachparticipantwillbedebriefed.Thefullpurposeofthestudy(comparingthebodylanguageofexpertsandnon‐experts)willbeexplained.Iftheparticipantsarenothappywiththedeceptiontheywillbeallowedtowithdrawtheirdata.Iwillalsooffertheopportunityforparticipantstoaskanyquestions.[Approx.500Words]

Thisisaclearanddetailedexplanationforhowtoestablishreliabilityinthisstudy.Thisanswershowsconsiderationofthethreemainethicalissues(informedconsent,deceptionandprotectionfromharm)andexplainsexactlyhowthesewillbedealtwith.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheobservationhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisobservationstudy.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofthesekeyfeaturesofanobservationstudyandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



OBSERVATION: HEALTHY BREAKFAST An experienced primary school teacher believes that children who eat ‘a healthy breakfast’ learn to read more quickly and are better behaved than children who eat an unhealthy breakfast. Imagine that you have been asked to design an observational study to see whether eating a healthy breakfast affects behaviour in the playground. Include in your answer sufficient detail to allow reasonable replication of the study. You must provide details of: The directional hypothesis that you intend to test and how you will operationalise the

Independent Variable (IV) Which behavioural categories you will use and how you will record the data How you will increase the validity of your observations How you will deal with ethical issues

[12 marks] ThedirectionalhypothesisChildrenwhodonoteatahealthybreakfastwillcarryoutmoreaggressivebehaviours(e.g.hitting,kickingandpushing)intheschoolplaygroundduringmorningbreakthanchildrenwhoeatahealthybreakfast.OperationalisationoftheIVIwilloperationalisetheIVbydefiningwhatconstitutesanunhealthybreakfastandahealthybreakfast.Foranunhealthybreakfastthiscouldinclude:sugarycereals,whitetoastorafriedbreakfast;andforahealthybreakfastthiscouldinclude:oats,fruit,yogurt,etc.WhichbehaviouralcategoriesyouwilluseandhowwillyourecordthedataAstheDVisthenumberofaggressivebehavioursshown,thebehaviouralcategoriesIwillusearehitting,kickingandpushing.Theseareallexamplesofphysicalaggression.Iwillcollectthisdatausingatallysheet,asshownbelow.Thenumberofeachbehaviourcouldthenbetotalled.Inordertoconducttheobservations,itwillbenecessarytoknowwhichchildhaseatenwhichtypeofbreakfastsothattheycanbeaskedwhentheycomeintoschoolinthemorningandthentheycanbegivenadifferentcoloursportsvesttowearatbreak–redforahealthybreakfastandgreenforanon‐healthybreakfast.

Behaviour Tallyred TallygreenHitting Kicking Pushing HowyouwillincreasethevalidityofyourobservationIwillensurethattheobservercanclearlyidentifywhoisineachgroup(seeabove),toensurethattheyareobservingandtallyingthe

ThehypothesisisdirectionalandincludesbothconditionsoftheIVandtheDV(numberofaggressiveacts).TheIVhasbeenoperationalisedintermsofwhatismeantbyahealthybreakfast.Threebehaviouralcategoriesthatarerelevantandspecifictothisstudyhavebeenidentifiedandjustified.Includingthetallysheetmakesitclearhowthedatawillberecorded.Itisalsomadeclearhowtheobserverwillknowwhoisinwhichcategory.Twopotentialthreatstothevalidityofthis



behaviourforeachgroupcorrectly.Inaddition,iftheobserverknowswhatthedifferencebetweenthetwogroupswasthismightleadtoobserverbiasastheycouldperceivethebehavioursshownbythenon‐healthybreakfastgroupasbeingmoreaggressive.Therefore,Iwillincreasethevaliditybyusingadouble‐blindcontrolwhereneitherthechildrennortheobserverknowtheaimofthestudy.EthicalissuestobeconsideredAsthestudyinvolvesobservingchildren,parentalconsentneedstobeobtained.Theschoolcouldwritetotheparentsofoneoftheclassesintheprimaryschoolandaskfortheirconsenttocarryoutastudyintotheeffectsofhealthyeatingwhichwillinvolvetheirchildbeingaskedsomequestionsaboutthefoodstheyeatandbeingobservedforashorttimewhileplayingintheplayground.Ifaparentrefusedthentheirchildwillnotbeincludedinthestudy.Topreventthechildrenbecomingupsetbyastrangerwatchingthemintheplayground,oneoftheotherteachersintheschoolwhoisnotawareoftheaimsofthestudycouldbetrainedtodotheobservations.Noneofthechildrenshouldbeidentifiedbynameinthereportoftheinvestigationandneithershouldtheschool.Thisistoensureconfidentialityandanonymity.[Approx.450Words]

observationalstudyhavebeenidentifiedandappropriatesuggestionstodealwiththeseissueshavebeenpresented.Thisanswershowsconsiderationofthetwomainethicalissuesinthisstudy(informedconsent,andprotectionfromharm)andexplainsexactlyhowthesewillbedealtwith.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alloftheelementsoftheobservationhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisobservationstudy.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofthesekeyfeaturesofanobservationstudyandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



CORRELATION: CAKE CONSUMPTION AND HAPPINESS Design a study to investigate whether there is a correlation between cake consumption and levels of happiness in students. You must refer to: Your target population, sample and sampling technique How you would operationalise the co‐variables The control of at least one extraneous variable How you would present the data in a graph

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. Targetpopulation,sampleandsamplingtechniqueThetargetpopulationforthisstudyisA‐levelstudentsaged16–18.Thesamplesizewouldbe20,andtheywouldbeobtainedthroughavolunteersamplingmethodtofulfilaquotaof10malesand10femalesandtoensurearangeofdifferentsubjectsarebeingtaken.Iwouldplaceaposterinthecommonroomofmysixthformcollegeaskingforpeopletoe‐mailmeiftheywouldliketotakepartinastudyinvestigatingtherelationshipsbetweenfoodandmood.IwouldalsoaskforpeopletotellmewhatA‐levelsubjectstheyarecurrentlystudying.Iwouldthensendalinktomyquestionnaireto10malesand10females,ensuringthattheytakearangeofsubjects.Operationalisationoftheco‐variablesThetwoco‐variablesarehappinessandcakeconsumption.Iwouldsendeachparticipantalinktoaquestionnaireincludingquestionsabouttheirmoodandhowoftentheyeatcertaintypesoffood.Onlythetwoquestionsonhappinessandcakeconsumptionwouldbeanalysed.Happinesswouldbeoperationalisedbyaskingtheparticipantstoratehowhappytheyfeelonascaleof1–10,where10isextremelyhappyand1isextremelyunhappy.Cakeconsumptionwouldbeoperationalisedbyaskingtheparticipantstostatehowmanyindividualcakesorportionsofcaketheyhaveeateninthelastweek.ControlofatleastoneextraneousvariablesHavingadditionaldistractorquestionsinthequestionnaireshouldpreventparticipantsfromguessingthepurposeoftheresearchandthereforereducedemandcharacteristics.IwouldensurethatthestudentstakearangeofsubjectsanddonotalltakethesameA‐levelsubject(e.g.psychology),asthesubjectstakenmayinfluencethehappinessrating.Iwouldalsoensurethat10participantsaremaleand10arefemaleasgendermayhaveaninfluenceonhappiness

Thetargetpopulation,sampleandanappropriatesamplingtechniquehavebeenidentifiedandexplained.Bothco‐variableshavebeenclearlyoperationalised.Threedifferentaspectsofcontrolhavebeenpresentedandoutlinedclearlyinrelationtothiscorrelationstudy.



and/orcakeconsumption.OncetheyhavecompletedthequestionnaireIwouldsendalltheparticipantsane‐mailthankingthemfortakingpartandexplainingthetrueaimofthestudy.Iwouldalsoexplainthattheirdatawouldbeconfidentialandthattheyhavetherighttowithdrawtheirdatauntilpublication.HowyouwouldpresentthedataonagraphOnceIhavereceivedalltheresponses,Iwouldmakeatableofresults,asshownbelow:Participant

no.Happinessrating

(outof10)No.ofindividualcakesportionsofcakeeateninthepastweek

1 2 3 etc.

Iwouldthenplotthesetsofscoresforthetwoco‐variablesonaScattergram,asshownbelow,andlooktoseeifthegraphshowsalinearrelationship(positiveornegativecorrelation).

[Approx.420Words]

Whileitisnotnecessarytoproduceawholetableofresults,thishelpstoshowhowtheresultswouldberecordedinorderforthegraphtobeplotted.Thisisthecorrecttypeofgraphandsketchinganexampleshowsunderstandingofwhatascattergramshouldlooklike.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsofthecorrelationstudyhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisinvestigation.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeofcorrelationdesignandgraphicalrepresentationofthedataandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.

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keeaten

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Scattergramtoshowtherelationshipbetweenhappinessratingandthenumberofindividualcakesorportionsofcakeeateninthepastweek



CORRELATIONAL STUDY: COFFEE CONSUMPTION AND MEMORY Imagine that you have been asked to design a correlation study to see if there is a relationship between the number of cups of coffee students drink and their performance on a memory test. Discuss the following aspects of this investigation: How you would test memory and how would you ensure this was the same for all participants How you would operationalise the second co‐variable and control at least one other extraneous

variable (i.e. one not related to the test of memory) How you would deal with ethical issues How you would use inferential statistics to analyse the results of this investigation

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. HowyouwouldtestmemoryandhowwouldyouensurethiswasthesameforallparticipantsIwouldgivealltheparticipants20wordstolearn.Thesewouldbepresentedonacomputerscreenatarateofonewordeverysecond.Theparticipantswouldthenbegivenfivementalarithmeticproblemstosolve(alsousingthecomputer).Oncetheycompletethis,Iwouldgiveeachparticipantthreeminutestorecallasmanyofthe20wordsastheycan,inanyorder.Alloftheparticipantswouldbegiventhesamewords,thesamestandardisedinstructionsandthesamedistractortask,toensurethatnoneofthesevariablescouldaffectperformance.Howyouwouldoperationalisethesecondco‐variableandcontrolatleastoneotherextraneousvariableIwouldaskeachparticipanthowmanycupsofcoffeecontainingcaffeinetheyhaddrunkinthelast24hours.Iwouldalsomakesurethattheydidnotcountcupsofdecaffeinatedcoffeeasthismightnothavethesameeffectonmemory.Iwouldalsoneedtoensurethatparticipantshadnottakencaffeineinanyotherformduringthelast24hours(e.g.energydrinksorpainkillerscontainingcaffeine,etc.).HowyouwoulddealwithethicalissuesMyparticipantswouldbe16–18‐year‐oldstudentsinasixthformcollegeandthereforetheywouldbeabletoprovideinformedconsent.Iwoulduseanopportunitysample,andwhenIapproachedpotentialparticipantsIwouldexplainthatthestudyisexaminingtherelationshipbetweenmemoryandcaffeineconsumption,whichwouldinvolvelearningalistofwords.Providingtheparticipantswiththisinformationwouldallowthemtoprovidefullyinformedconsent.Iwouldalsoexplainthattheirdatawouldremainconfidentialandthattheywouldhavetherighttowithdrawatanytime.OnceIhavecollectedtheinformationonthenumberofcupsofcoffeetheyhaddrunk,andtheparticipantshadcompletedthememorytest,Iwouldthankthemanddebriefthembyexplainingtheaimsoftheresearch

Themethodoftestingmemoryhasbeenclearlyexplainedandthereisalsoaveryclearexplanationofhowthiswouldbedoneinthesamewayforallparticipants.‘Cupsofcoffee’hasbeenoperationalisedandtwoappropriateextraneousvariableshavebeenidentifiedandexplained.Thetwokeyethicalissuesofinformedconsentandprotectionfromharmandwaystodealwiththemhavebeendiscussedveryclearly.



inmoredetail.IftheywereunhappywithanythingaboutthestudyIwouldallowthemtowithdrawtheirdata.Iwouldalsoaskiftheyhadanyquestions.HowyouwoulduseinferentialstatisticstoanalysetheresultsofthisinvestigationIwoulduseaSpearman’sRhotoanalysetheresultsbecausethedataisatleastordinalandthestudyislookingforacorrelationbetweenmemoryandthenumberofcupsofcoffeedrunk.ThePearson’sRtestisalsoacorrelationtestbutisnotappropriateforthisinvestigationasthesampleisstudentswhodonotcomefromapopulationwithanormaldistributionandthememoryscoresareordinalratherthanintervaldataasnotallofthewordsonthelistwouldbeofequaldifficulty.Thetestwouldprovidethecorrelationcoefficientwhichwouldtellusthestrengthandthedirectionoftherelationship.[Approx.420Words]

Theinferentialtesthasbeenappropriatelyselectedandexplainedinrelationtothisstudy.Explainingaboutthetwotypesoftestshowsincreasedknowledgeandunderstanding.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Suggestionsarewelldetailedandpractical,showingsoundunderstandingofdesignofcorrelationstudy.Allfourelementsarepresent.Thereissufficientinformationformostaspectsofthestudytobeimplementedwithsuccess.Theanswerisclearandcoherentandspecialistterminologyisusedeffectively.



SELF‐REPORT: MEMORY IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES AND REVISION Explain how you would carry out a self‐report study using a questionnaire to investigate the effectiveness of memory improvement techniques used by students while revising. You must refer to/provide details of: Your target population, sample and sampling technique Open and closed questions How you would assess the reliability of the questionnaire The use of a pilot study

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. Thetargetpopulation,sampleandsamplingtechniqueThetargetpopulationforthisstudyisA‐levelstudentswhoare16–18yearsold.Asthisstudyisutilisingaquestionnaire,Icanusealargesampleof100studentswhowouldbeobtainedthroughanopportunitysamplingmethod.Iwouldgointothecollegesocialareasandlibrarytohandoutthequestionnairesandwaitnearbywhilethestudentscompletethem.Thisshouldhelptoensureahighresponserate.OpenandclosedquestionsAsthisstudyisusingaself‐completionquestionnaire,Ineedtoensurethatthequestionnaireisquickandeasytofillin,sothattherespondentsdonotgetboredandfailtocompleteit.Therefore,IwouldmostlyuseclosedquestionswhichcouldincluderatingandLikertscales.Forexample,Iwouldincludealistofdifferenttypesofmemoryimprovementtechniquesstudentsmightusewhenrevising(e.g.useofmindmaps,mnemonics,etc.)andaskthestudentstoindicatehoweffectivetheyfindeachtechniqueonascaleof1–5,where5isveryeffectiveand1isveryineffective.Iwouldalsouseclosedquestionstocollectdemographicdatasuchasage,genderandsubjectsstudied.Inaddition,Iwouldalsoincludeasmallnumberofopenquestionstocollectsomequalitativedata.Forexample,Iwouldask‘Whichtechniquedoyoufindmosteffectiveandwhy?’HowyouwouldassessthereliabilityofthequestionnaireIwouldusethetest‐retestmethodtoassessthereliabilityofthequestionnaire.Thiswouldinvolvegivingthequestionnairetoasmallnumberofstudentsontwooccasionswithatimeinbetween(e.g.oneweek).Icouldthencheckthattheirresponseswherethesame(orverysimilar)onbothoccasionstoensurethequestionnaireisreliable.Ifitisn’tthenIwouldneedtomodifythequestionnaireandassessthereliabilityagain.

Thetargetpopulation,sampleandsamplingtechniquehavebeenoutlinedandexplainedappropriately.Aclearunderstandingofthedifferencebetweenopenandclosedquestionsisshow.Theanswerhasclearlyexplained,usingexamples,howbothwouldbeappropriateinthisstudy.Thisisanappropriatewaytoassessthereliabilityofaquestionnaire.



UseofapilotstudyIwoulduseapilotstudybygivingthefirstversionofmyquestionnairetoasmallsampleoffivestudentsfromthetargetpopulationtomakesurethattheyunderstandthequestions.IcanalsocheckthatIamgainingtheinformationthatIrequireforthisstudy.Oncethestudentshavecompletedthequestionnaire,Iwouldaskthemquestionsregardinghoweasyordifficulttheyfoundittofillin,orwhethertherewereanyspecificquestionstheyfounddifficult.Basedonthestudent’sresponsesIwouldmakeanynecessarymodificationstothequestionnairethenassessthereliabilityusingthetest‐retestmethodoutlinedabovebeforeconductingthemainstudy.[Approx.400Words]

Thisstudentclearlyunderstandswhatapilotstudyisandhowitcouldbeusedinthisinvestigation.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Suggestionsarewelldetailedandpractical,showingsoundunderstandingofthedesignofaself‐reportstudyusingaquestionnaire.Allfourelementsarepresent.Thereissufficientinformationformostaspectsofthestudytobeimplementedwithsuccess.Theanswerisclearandcoherentandspecialistterminologyisusedeffectively.



SELF‐REPORT: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ANOREXIA TREATMENT Imagine that you are a psychologist who wanted to find out why females respond better than males to a new treatment for anorexia. Explain how you would carry out a self‐report investigation using an interview. You must refer to/provide details of: The sample and the sampling technique How you would reduce investigator effects such as interviewer bias Examples of questions that would collect qualitative data and how this data would be analysed. How you would deal with ethical issues

[12 marks] Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would…’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. SampleandsamplingtechniqueAsampleoffivemalesandfivefemaleswillberecruitedasthisstudywillcollectin‐depthdatausingsemi‐structuredinterviews.Anopportunitysamplingmethodwillbeused,astheinterviewswillinvolvepeoplewhohavebeentakingpartinanewtreatmentforanorexia.Iwillaskthedoctorsconductingthetreatmenttoapproachtheirpatientsandaskiftheyarewillingtotakepart.ReducinginvestigatoreffectssuchasinterviewerbiasAstheinterviewswillbesemi‐structured,aseriesofstandardisedquestionswillbeincludedthatalloftheparticipantsareaskedinthesameway.Iwillensurethattheintervieweravoidsusinganyleadingquestionswhichcouldbiastheparticipants’answers.Thestudywilluseadouble‐blindprocedure,asIwillnotconducttheinterviewsmyselfsothatneithertheparticipantnortheinterviewerisawareoftheaimoftheresearch:toseewhyfemalesrespondbettertothetreatmentthanmales.ExamplesofquestionsthatwouldcollectqualitativedataandhowthisdatawouldbeanalysedExamplesofappropriatequestionsare: Whatdoyoulikeaboutthistreatmentmethod? Whatdoyoudislikeaboutthistreatmentmethod? Whichaspectsofthetreatmentdoyoufeelworkthebest?

Iwillanalysetheresponsestothesequestionsusingcontentanalysis.Forexample,Iwillgothroughtheresponsestoeachquestionandpickoutcategoriessuchas‘Itdoesnotrequiremucheffort’or‘Ithashelpedmetoeatmore’.WhenIhavealistofcategories,Iwillgothroughtheresponsesandcountthefrequencyofeachresponseusingatallychart–oneformalesandoneforfemales.Usingthismethod,Icouldconvertthequalitativedatatoquantitativedataandcomparetheresponsesofthemalesandfemales.

Thesampleandsamplingtechniquehavebeenoutlinedandexplainedappropriately.Threedifferentwaysofreducinginterviewereffectsareoutlinedandexplained.Threeopenquestionsappropriatetothisstudyhavebeenpresented.Contentanalysisisanappropriatetechniqueforanalysingquantitativedata,especiallyinthisstudywheremaleandfemale



EthicalissuesWhentheparticipantsagreetotakepartinthestudytheywillbeprovidedwithaconsentformtoreadandsign.Thiswillexplainthattheaimofthestudyistoinvestigatetheirviewsabouttheanorexiatreatmenttheyarehaving.Theywillbetoldthattheirinformationwillremainconfidentialandeventhedoctorwhoistreatingthemwillnotknowwhathasbeendiscussed.Thiswillalsobestressedatthebeginningoftheinterview,whereitwillalsobeexplainedthattheyhavetherighttorefusetoansweranyquestiontheyarenotcomfortablewithandarefreetowithdrawatanypointduringtheinterview.Theinterviewerwillalsomonitorthebehaviouroftherespondentsduringtheinterviewstomakesurethattheyarenotdistressed.Iftheyappeartobedistressedthentheinterviewwillbeterminated.Thisisveryimportantasparticipantsinthissamplearevulnerableduetotheireatingdisorder.Attheendoftheinterviewtheywillbethankedfortheirtimeanddebriefedbybeingprovidedwithamoredetailedexplanationoftheaim,asitwillbebettertonotprovideinformationaboutgenderdifferencesatthebeginning,asitcouldleadtodemandcharacteristics.Ifanyoftheparticipantsarenothappywhentoldthefullaim,thentheywillbeallowedtowithdrawtheirfindingsfromthestudy.[Approx.500Words]

responsesneedtobecompared.Thereisaclearexplanationofhowthiswouldbedoneinrelationtothisstudy.Thisisaverydetaileddiscussionofethicalissuesandhowtheywillbedealtwithwhichiswritteninthecontextofthisstudy.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alltheelementsoftheself‐reportstudyhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisinvestigation.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeoftheinterviewmethodandtheanalysisofqualitativedataandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



CASE STUDY: BULLYING You are a psychologist who is interested in how experiences of being bullied as a child affect a person’s adult behaviour and relationships. You want to use a case study approach to gain an in‐depth understanding. Explain how you would conduct a case study to investigate this. You must refer to/provide details of: At least two different ways you could collect data How you would obtain your sample How you would deal with ethical issues How you could reduce investigator effects

[12 marks]

Please note: This answer has been written in the first person as that question states: ‘how you would …’ and therefore first person is highly appropriate for this question. TwowaysyoucouldcollectdataAcasestudyinvolvesconductingadetailedstudyofasingleindividual(orgroup),soIcouldcollectdatabyconductingaseriesofunstructuredinterviewswithoneparticipanttofindoutabouttheirchildhoodexperiencesofbeingbulliedandhowtheyfeelthathasaffectedtheiradultbehavioursandexperiences.Icouldalsoconductunstructuredinterviewswiththeirparentstofindoutmoreinformationabouthowtheywerebulliedasachild.Itwouldalsobeusefultointerviewaclosefriendorpartneroftheparticipanttofindoutmoreinformationabouttheirbehaviourandrelationships.AsecondmethodIcouldusetocollectdataisanovertobservationoftheparticipantwhentheyareinteractingwithfriendsorrelatives,toassessthenatureoftheirinteractions.ThiswouldbeastructuredobservationandIwouldproduceachecklistofbehavioursbasedontheinformationgatheredintheinterviews.Possibleexamplesofbehavioursmightbe‘makingeye‐contact’,‘hugging’,‘resistingaffectionfromothers’,etc.HowtoobtainsampleAsIneedtofindaparticipantwhowasbulliedasachild,andthisisaveryin‐depthinvestigation,itwouldbebesttouseavolunteersample.Icouldplaceanadvertonsocialmedia(e.g.Facebookgroupsinmylocalarea)askingforpeoplewhowerebulliedasachildtovolunteertotakepartinanin‐depthstudy.EthicalissuesIwouldneedtogaininformedconsentfromtheparticipantbyexplainingtheaimofthestudyandwhattakingpartwouldinvolve.Theywouldbetoldthatitwouldinvolveaseriesofin‐depthinterviews(withthemselvesandothers)andsomeobservationsoftheirbehaviour.IwouldhavetoreassurethemthatanythingtheytoldmewouldremainconfidentialandthatwhenIpublishedmy

Twoappropriatemethodstocollectdatahavebeenidentifiedandexplained.Thisisanappropriatesamplingtechniqueforthisstudyandithasbeenexplainedandjustifiedclearly.



researchitwouldnotincludetheirnameoranyotherpersonalinformationthatmightidentifythem.Theywouldalsobeofferedtherighttowithdrawfromthestudyatanypointandtoldthattheycanrefusetoansweranyquestions.Thesamewouldapplytoanyotherpeopleinterviewedaspartofthecasestudy.Ifthepersonbecameupsetduringtheinterview(s)thenIwouldstoptheinterview.IwouldalsoadvisethemtoseekcounsellingifIbelievedthatthebullyingwashavinganegativeeffectontheirmentalhealth.ReducinginvestigatoreffectsAstheinterviewsareunstructured,Iwouldneedtobeverycarefultoavoidanyleadingquestionsthatmightsuggesthowthebullyingmighthaveaffectedtheirbehaviourandrelationships.Duetothein‐depthnatureofthestudy,Iwouldneedtoconducttheinterviewsmyself.However,forthestructuredobservationIwoulduseanobserverwhodidnotknowtheaimsoftheresearchtoreduceobserverbias.[Approx.500Words]

Adetaileddiscussionofethicalissuesthatfocusesonthekeyissuesofinformedconsentandprotectionfromharm.Theansweralsooffersawayofdealingwiththeseissues.Twoappropriatemethodstoreduceinvestigatoreffectshavebeenidentifiedandexplained.

Examinerstylecomments:MarkBand4Alloftherequiredelementsofthecasestudyhavebeenpresentedandthesuggestionsareverywelldetailed,practicalandappropriateforthisexperiment.Theanswerdemonstratesclearknowledgeandunderstandingofthecasestudymethodandthereissufficientmaterialforthestudytobeimplemented.



EXPERIMENT: EXERCISE AND HAPPINESS Design an experiment to investigate whether exercise could increase feelings of happiness. For your measure of happiness, you should devise a measure that would provide data suitable for testing at an ordinal level of measurement. In your answer, you should provide details of: Design – include reference to experimental design, variables and controls Materials/Apparatus – describe any special materials required Data analysis that could be used – include reference to both descriptive and inferential analysis

Justify your choices.

[12 marks]

EXPERIMENT: MUSIC AND TASK PERFORMANCE Design an experiment using a repeated measures design that can be carried out in a classroom. The aim is to investigate whether listening to music affects task performance (e.g. while completing a word search or a spot the differences puzzle). In your answer, you should provide details of: The operationalised IV, DV and controls The sample and the sampling technique The procedure that could be used – there should be enough detail for the study to be carried out

[12 marks]

EXPERIMENT: WRITTEN AND SPOKEN INFORMATION

Design an experiment to test whether people who are given written information remember more than people who hear information in a spoken form. You must refer to/provide details of: Design – include reference to experimental design, variables and controls The sample and sampling technique Materials/Apparatus – describe any special materials required An outline of the proposed procedure

[12 marks]



QUASI‐EXPERIMENT: MUSICAL ABILITY Design a quasi‐experiment to investigate whether there is a difference in the musical ability of left‐handed students and right‐handed students in a sixth form college. You must provide details of: The experimental design An appropriate sampling method and justification The procedure that could be used, including details of how musical ability would be assessed A suitable debrief for the participants

[12 marks]

QUASI‐EXPERIMENT: GENDER DIFFERENCES AND ATTENTION Imagine that you have been asked to design a quasi‐experiment to investigate whether there are gender differences in focussed attention. You decide to ask participants to find a specific letter (e.g. ‘b’) in an array of different letters, as in this example, where the task is to find the ‘b’ in an array of ‘d’s.

d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d b d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d

You decide to time the participants as they complete this task using a stop watch. Discuss the following aspects of this investigation: With reference to the letter finding task, how you would ensure that the task is the same for all

of the participants One methodological issue that needs to be taken into account when you obtain suitable

participants for this study and explain how you would deal with this issue What you would do to ensure that your participants are treated ethically How you would use inferential statistics to analyse the results of this investigation

[12 marks]

OBSERVATION: MOBILE PHONE USE IN PUBLIC Design a naturalistic observation study to investigate mobile phone use in a public place. In your answer, you should provide details of: Where and when you will conduct the observation and how you will sample behaviour Which behavioural categories you will use and how you will record the data Graphical representation of the data How you will deal with ethical issues

[12 marks]



OBSERVATION: DIFFERENCES IN NON‐VERBAL BEHAVIOUR Design a controlled observation to investigate differences in non‐verbal behaviour (e.g. body language and gestures) of experts and non‐experts who are required to give a presentation to an audience. In your answer you should provide details of: The task for the participants and how you will decide who is an expert and who is not an

expert Which behavioural categories you will use and how will you record the data How the reliability of data might be established Ethical issues to be considered

[12 marks]

OBSERVATION: HEALTHY BREAKFAST An experienced primary school teacher believes that children who eat ‘a healthy breakfast’ learn to read more quickly and are better behaved than children who eat an unhealthy breakfast. Imagine that you have been asked to design an observational study to see whether eating a healthy breakfast affects behaviour in the playground. Include in your answer sufficient detail to allow reasonable replication of the study. You must provide details of: The directional hypothesis that you intend to test and how you will operationalise the

Independent Variable (IV) Which behavioural categories you will use and how you will record the data How you will increase the validity of your observations How you will deal with ethical issues

[12 marks]

CORRELATION: CAKE CONSUMPTION AND HAPPINESS Design a study to investigate whether there is a correlation between cake consumption and levels of happiness in students. You must refer to: Your target population, sample and sampling technique How you would operationalise the co‐variables The control of at least one extraneous variable How you would present the data in a graph

[12 marks]



CORRELATIONAL STUDY: COFFEE CONSUMPTION AND MEMORY Imagine that you have been asked to design a correlation study to see if there is a relationship between the number of cups of coffee students drink and their performance on a memory test. Discuss the following aspects of this investigation: How you would test memory and how would you ensure this was the same for all participants How you would operationalise the second co‐variable and control at least one other extraneous

variable (i.e. one not related to the test of memory) How you would deal with ethical issues How you would use inferential statistics to analyse the results of this investigation

[12 marks]

SELF‐REPORT: MEMORY IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES AND REVISION Explain how you would carry out a self‐report study using a questionnaire to investigate the effectiveness of memory improvement techniques used by students while revising. You must refer to/provide details of: Your target population, sample and sampling technique Open and closed questions How you would assess the reliability of the questionnaire The use of a pilot study

[12 marks]

SELF‐REPORT: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ANOREXIA TREATMENT Imagine that you are a psychologist who wanted to find out why females respond better than males to a new treatment for anorexia. Explain how you would carry out a self‐report investigation using an interview. You must refer to/provide details of: The sample and the sampling technique How you would reduce investigator effects such as interviewer bias Examples of questions that would collect qualitative data and how this data would be analysed. How you would deal with ethical issues

[12 marks]

CASE STUDY: BULLYING You are a psychologist who is interested in how experiences of being bullied as a child affect a person’s adult behaviour and relationships. You want to use a case study approach to gain an in‐depth understanding. Explain how you would conduct a case study to investigate this. You must refer to/provide details of: At least two different ways you could collect data How you would obtain your sample How you would deal with ethical issues How you could reduce investigator effects

[12 marks]

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