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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: RESEARCH METHODS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: RESEARCH METHODS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: RESEARCHMETHODS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE ANSWERS
A general statement on what the researcher intends to investigate - Answer-What is an
Aim?
A clear, precise, testable statement that states the Relationship between the Variables
to be investigated - Answer-What is a Hypothesis?
A hypothesis that states the direction of the outcome of the experiment - Answer-What
is a Directional Hypothesis?
A hypothesis that doesn't state the direction of the outcome of the experiment - Answer-
What is a Non-Directional Hypothesis?
Making variables measurable - Answer-What is Operationalisation?
The variable which the researcher controls - Answer-What is the Independent Variable?
The variable that will be affected by the Independent Variable. It is not controlled and is
measured by the Researcher. - Answer-What is the Dependent Variable?
A variable which varies systematically with the Independent Variable meaning we don't
know what caused the change in the Dependent Variable - Answer-What is a
Confounding Variable?
A nuisance variable which does not vary systematically with the Dependent Variable -
Answer-What is an Extraneous Variable?
When participants are influenced by cues indicating the purpose of the experiment and
change their behaviour - Answer-What are Demand Characteristics?
When a participant over-performs in an effort to please the experimenter - Answer-What
is the Please-U Effect?
When a participant under-performs in an effort to sabotage the study - Answer-What is
the Screw-U Effect?
Where participants want to portray themselves in a positive light - Answer-What is
Social Desirability Bias?
,When the expectations of outcome by the researchers influence the participants'
behaviour or participant selection - Answer-What are Investigator Effects?
the order of the conditions having an effect on the participants' behavior
e.g: The Practice Effect, The Fatigue Effect - Answer-What are Order Effects?
The differing individual characteristics of participants in an experiment. They can be
considered extraneous variables because they are variables that can influence the
results of an experiment but that the experimenter is not studying. These can challenge
the validity of a study by influencing the results.
E.g: age, gender, mood, socioeconomic background - Answer-What are Participant
Variables?
The use of chance when designing materials and deciding the order of conditions. It
involves randomising stimuli so the researcher is not in control of the order of stimuli or
conditions - Answer-What is Randomisation?
Order Effects and Investigator Effects - Answer-What does Randomisation control for?
Putting participants subject to the same as possible environment, information and
experience - Answer-What is Standardisation?
Investigator Effects and Demand Characteristics - Answer-What does Standardisation
control for?
The use of random selection in an Independent Groups design ensuring that each
participant has the same chance of being in one condition than any other.
Usually using a random number generator, assigning each participant a number and
then using the generator to put them in a group. - Answer-What is Random Allocation?
Investigator Effects and Participant Variables - Answer-What does Random Allocation
control for?
Ensuring that half the participants complete Condition A followed by Condition B,
whereas the other half complete B followed by A. It doesn't remove order effects, it only
balances them out between conditions. - Answer-What is Counterbalancing?
Order Effects - Answer-What does Counterbalancing control for?
Participants are divided into 2 groups. One group does one condition and the other
group does the other condition. - Answer-What is an Independent Groups design?
- Not affected by Order Effects
- Not affected by Demand Characteristics - Answer-What are the Strengths of an
Independent Groups design?
, - Differences between the participants could act as an extraneous variable
- Need twice as many participants - Answer-What are the Weaknesses of an
Independent Groups design?
All participants complete the first condition and then the same participants complete the
second condition - Answer-What is a Repeated Measures design?
- Need fewer participants
- No participant variables - Answer-What are the Strengths of a Repeated Measures
design?
- Affected by Order Effects
- More likely to be affected by Demand Characteristics - Answer-What are the
Weaknesses of a Repeated Measures design?
Participants are divided into 2 groups, one group does one condition and the second
group does the other condition.
However, each individual in group 1 is matched to a similar individual in group 2 -
Answer-What is a Matched Pairs design?
- Not affected by Order Effects
- Less likely to be affected by Demand Characteristics
- Reduces Participant Variables - Answer-What are the Strengths of a Matched Pairs
design?
- Need twice as many participants
- Time Consuming and Expensive to organise - Answer-What are the Weaknesses of a
Matched Pairs design?
Every person the researcher wants to be able to make statements about - Answer-What
is a Population?
A smaller number of people drawn from the population using a particular technique and
in representative of that population - Answer-What is a Sample?
Every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected - Answer-
What is Random Sampling?
1) Compile a list of all members of the target population
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