Paper 1 - Reseach Methods Flashcards
How would you structure a conclusion about a study?
State finding ……… this suggests that
. Make sure it is in context
Example
If you were looking at observing difference between hand gestures between male and female talking on phone. Showing males gestures to be higher.
Answer: From results it showed that males gesture more. This suggests that they could be less self conscious than females, or that they are more visual in how they think and this is reflected in conversations they have whilst on the phone with other people, making them more animated.
What do you always need to remember to do in every question
To link back to the context of the study being presented.
What do you need to remember to do when drawing a graph
Use all the grid given
Equal scale
Include labelling of axis and a title which is in context
When working out numbers for statistical test, what do you need to ensure you do?
Show each line of working out for calculation.
When writing a hypothesis for a study, what do you need to ensure you do?
Operationalise the IV and the DV in the study
(Fully explain how you would measure both of them)
Eg. Mesuring length of handshake on friendliness:
Operationalise:
IV - short handshake (2 seconds) and long handshake (5 seconds)
DV - use a rating scale to mesure friendliness
Name 4 things that you need to remember to include/ reference when writing a significant statement of data?
Reference the:
. Critical value
. Observed value
. Sample size
. Probability level
Example of probability level:
…At the probability level it is used at
Eg 5% probability level
Eg the results where significant at 5% probability level
In section C what do you you always need to do first?
Give reason why
Read the information given at the top
Why- as it will help you answer the questions below/ identify the statistical test you need
Outline the exam technique when answering the multiple choice questions
Process of elimination/ eliminate options for each question
Step 1 - read question
Step 2 - cross out ones definitely not
Step 3 - re read question
Step 4 - select final answer
Spend a minute on each question
If you are given a fraction and asked to represent it as a decimal, what should you do to work it out.
Type the fraction into the calculator!!
Eg 1/20 = 0.05
Outline the 15 mark structure
(in order to access the top band.)
It is essential that you meet the four requirements that examiners are looking for, these are:
•1. Addressing all of the required features (the 4 bullet points)
•2. Justifying your design decisions
•3. Contextualising your answer – applying your knowledge to the scenario
•4. Explicitly linking your design decisions to your own practical work
What do you include when justifying your answer in the 15 marker
Outline the strengths of the required factor
Eg. structured interview
What does contextualising your answer mean and what do you include when contextualising your answer
Means applying your knowledge to the scenario/ study given
Include:
Who is the sample going to be?
Where will they be from?
How will you get the sample?
How will you conduct it? e.g interview/ questionnaire etc
What is the sentence starter and what do you include when explicitly linking your design to your own practical application
In my own research when I investigated … I used e.g structured interview
Include :
Who were the sample?
Where were they from?
How did you carry it out?
Remember to justify why used
What do you need to do when you start the 15 maker
Set the scene for the study (context)
Introduce how you are going to carry out the study
What should you refer to at the start of each required factor in the 15 marker
Refer to what the required factor is
E.g
RF - details of how one ethical consideration would be addressed
One ethical consideration would be …
For a question on saying way a measure of central tendency is better than another what should you include to get 2 marks
1 mark - identify why
eg. mean affected by outliers
1 mark - use example of data from the study table in context
eg. Wearing a name badge had rating of 5, which is lower than any other rating (outlier)
Give an example on how you would operationalise the dependant variable to obtain quantitive data for a required factor.
Study related to an experiment on litter in room of lemons vs room smells of nothing.
I would operationalise the DV of litter by counting the number of pieces left in both room (lemon or no lemon) and use a tally chart to generate quant data.
Give a example of 2 conclusions that can be made from this study
Memory can be influenced by many different things. However, there are techniques which we can use to improve our memory. One such technique involves reading aloud the information we want to remember. A psychologist investigated this by giving participants a set of 30 words to try and remember. Six participants studied the words in silence. A different group of six participants were instructed to read the words aloud when trying to learn them. The data collected is presented in the table below.
Results:
The results higher number of words recalled correctly when read out loud compared to silent study
Some variety is scores
Remember to state finding … this suggests :
Conclusions could include:
• Reading aloud seems to facilitate memory, perhaps because the act of reading enables the words to be practiced more and processed at a deeper level
. There are some individual differences, so reading aloud does not improve memory for everyone, indicating cognitive processes work differently for different people.
The Study :
Psychologists have investigated many ways that could improve how children learn. However, most of these have concentrated on studying the effect of different teaching styles, rather than focusing on the child themself. A psychologist taking a more child-focused approach wants to study if being more relaxed affects concentration levels. They want to investigate if young children can concentrate better when wearing comfortable sippers on their feet compared to wearing shoes.
The study is to be conducted in one large primary school with 240 children on the register.
Explain how you would conduct a study using the laboratory experimental method to investigate if wearing slippers affects a child’s ability to concentrate. Justify your decisions as part of your explanation.
Required factors:
. how you would use random sampling to obtain 30 participants for the study
. the experimental design you would use in this study
. how you would operationalise the dependent variable to obtain quantitative data
. the control of one extraneous variable.
Outline how you would explain these required factors to get the top mark
1) use of random sampling to obtain 30 participants for the study the
Good:
Clearly explained how this has been carried out in their study in terms of procedural details (e.g. register + the use of random number generator + how contacted after the selection/hat).
2) experimental design
Good:
Identified the experimental design and clearly explained how this has been implemented/carried out in their study (IMD should include reference as to how they were allocated to conditions;
RMD should include reference to the order of conditions/counterbalancing;
MPD should include reference to variables that participants were matched on).
3) operationalise the dependent variable to obtain quantitative data
Good:
Clear details on how dependent variable will be operationalised.
Outline how data is quantified and how/when the concentration is measured (e.g. teacher or self-rating of concentration on a scale of 1-10 (1 being poor concentration and 10 being very good concentration), number of letter ‘f’ crossed out, score on the spot the difference puzzle, etc.)
4) control of one extraneous variable.
Good:
Clear and somewhat detailed description of how EV can be controlled.
