reasrach methods part 2 exam mocks

Question 1

Explain one strength and one limitation of using this volterining sampling method in this study?

Answer 1

one strength is that students will be happy and willing to participate so will be more likely to complete the daily sleep questionnaire
one strength is that it is not a time-consuming method/minimal input from the researcher as the psychologist only puts up a poster at the university and waits for students to volunteer
one limitation is that it would provide a biased sample as it would only include psychology students at one particular university which would not necessarily reflect the population as they are all of a similar age/academic level
one limitation is that the sample may be biased as the type of student who volunteers may have differing traits to the general population, for example they may be more extrovert.

Question 2

Explain one reason why the researcher decided to include these additional questions
on the questionnaire?

Answer 2

students would be less likely to alter their ratings about their sleep quality, reducing demand characteristics (improving validity).

Question 3

Outline one reason why it was appropriate to conduct a correlation rather than an
experiment in this case.

Answer 3

it would be difficult to dictate the number of hours the students should sleep
it may be more ethical to conduct a correlation rather than restrict how many hours each student slept.

Question 4

Explain why the researcher decided to use the 5% level of significance rather than the
1% level in this study.

Answer 4

the 5% level of significance is the conventional level of probability employed by psychologists/balances the risks of making a Type I and Type II error

Question 5

What is meant by the term meta-analysis?

Answer 5

meta-analysis is the process where researchers collect and collate a wide range of previously conducted research on a specific area

Question 6

Briefly explain why a directional hypothesis would be most suitable for this experiment.

Answer 6

There is past research indicating that the variables are similar have an effect on ea ch other (or similar).

Question 7

Explain how the psychologist could have matched pupils on their typical recreational
screen time across the experimental conditions?

Answer 7

the psychologist could use a questionnaire/interview/ask parents to report/pupils to self-report * examples of questions given/data obtained on average/daily recreational screen time use
pupils with similar recreational screen time use would be paired
one pupil from each pair would be (randomly) placed in Group A and the other in Group B.

Question 8

Explain one advantage of using a stratified sample of participants in this study.

Answer 8

ensures that this sample is truly representative because different types of people (males/females) working in this company are represented in the sample in the correct proportions.

Question 9

Explain how using the standard deviation rather than the range, in this situation, would improve the study

Answer 9

1 mark – this would be an improvement because the SD is a measure of dispersion that was less 
easily distorted by a single extreme score.
Plus
1 mark – one that takes account of the distance of all the verbal error scores from the mean.
Plus
1 mark – not just the distance between the highest verbal error score and the lowest verbal error 
score.

Question 10

21 The psychologist found the results were significant at p<0.05. What is meant by ‘the results

Answer 10

This means that there is a less than 5% likelihood that this difference would occur if there is no real difference between the conditions

Question 11

Briefly explain one method the psychologist could use to check the validity of the data she 
collected in this study.

Answer 11

giving participants an alternative/established verbal fluency test and checking to see that the two sets of data are positively correlated (concurrent validity).

Question 12

Briefly explain one reason why it is important for research to undergo a peer review

Answer 12

ensures published research is taken seriously because it has been independently scrutinised

Question 13

Explain how the study might be improved by using a matched pairs design?

Answer 13

With independent groups participant variables might have caused the lower post therapy scores for group 2 rather than the therapy. Therefore it would be better to use matched Paris designed as to would reduce the participant variables. This is because participants could be matched on ability and then put into separate conditions

Question 14

The researcher used a questionnaire to assess the anger scores of the 
offenders. Briefly discuss one strength of using questionnaires in research.

Answer 14

the ability to collect large amounts of data relatively quickly and conveniently

Question 15

skewed data scores

Answer 15

group A scores indicate a normal dosturbition 
because in Group A the mean median and mode are almost the same
group B scores indicate a positively skewed distribution 
because the mean is higher than the mode

Question 16

Explain why a histogram would not be an appropriate way of displaying the means

Answer 16

1 mark for explaining either you need to have continuous data or scores for each participant in 
order to draw a histogram. 
Plus
1 mark for identifying that the data represents two separate conditions (with music/without music). 
Accept categorical/nominal.

Question 17

Describe the process and purposes of peer review.

Answer 17

other psychologists check the research report before deciding whether it could be published * independent scrutiny by other psychologists working in a similar field
* work is considered in terms of its validity, significance and originality
* assessment of the appropriateness of the methods and designs used
reviewer can accept the manuscript as it is, accept with revisions, suggest the author makes revisions and re-submits or reject without the possibility of re-submission
editor makes the final decision whether to accept or reject the research report based on the reviewers’ comments/recommendations
research proposals are submitted to panel and assessed for merit. 
Purposes
to ensure quality and relevance of research, eg methodology, data analysis etc
* to ensure accuracy of findings
* to evaluate proposed designs (in terms of aims, quality and value of the research) for 
research funding.

Question 18

Explain one disadvantage of obtaining quantitative data in this study.

Answer 18

1 mark for an accurate, relevant disadvantage of quantitative data eg lacks detail (which may 
decrease validity of findings) etc

Question 19

explain why using stratified sampling might improve this study

Answer 19

stratified sampling increases representation/generalisation by sampling many subsets of students
stratified sampling reduces research bias as the subsets of students are selected randomly.

Question 20

the psychologist used counterbalancing in the follow up study discuss the purpose of counterbalancing

Answer 20

the purpose of counterbalancing is to reduce order effects in a study.
this can be done by making half the participants do condition A first and the other half do condition B first.
therefore helping to reduce fatigue for example making people do worse in the second task they complete
this leads to order effects to be distributed evenly across both conditions

Question 21

double bind method

Answer 21

overcomes investigators effect

Question 22

single bind method

Answer 22

reduced demand chartoertics as particpants as participants don’t know what condition they are in

Question 23

State one advantage of an independent groups design.

Answer 23

removes order effects/effects of practise/fatigue etc
* participants are less likely to work out the aim and change their behaviour/less influenced by demand
characteristics.

Question 24

studies of attachment often involve naturalistic observations.
Suggest one way in which studies of attachment could be improved by using controlled observation?

Answer 24

controlled observations can minimise extraneous variables
controlled observations are likely to have standardised procedures, so reliability/replication is more of
a possibility than in naturalistic observations
cause and effect relationships are easier to establish than in a naturalistic observation.

Question 25

A strength of time sampling :

Answer 25

Time sampling may be easier to manage as there are likely to be many social behaviours occurring throughout the set observation time

Question 26

A limitation of time sampling

Answer 26

Time sampling may not be represntive of social behaviours as some social behaviours that the 3 year old child may display may be missed

Question 27

Explain how the reliability of the controlled observation could be assessed through inter observer reliability?

Answer 27

Two observers would use the same bhev aural categories and agree on an interoperation of each of the social behaviours. 
The two observers would make independent observation in the same time period. 
The two observers tally charts would be compared to check for agreements to calculate a correlation 
Generally accept +0.8 percent as a reasonable degree of reliability

Question 28

Deceive features of the abstract section in a scientific report

Answer 28

First section of a report 
Brief summary 
Contains the aims, methods, results and conclusion

Question 29

The psychologist submitted a report of her investigation to a journal for peer review. What would she expect the process to involve?

Answer 29

*  her report would be sent for independent scrutiny (checked / reviewed) by other psychologists
*  they would consider e.g. validity, ethics, errors, significance, originality and possible improvements
*  to see whether it should be published.

Question 30

 Explain how the study might have been improved by using a random sample of students from Year 12.

Answer 30

  this reduces the likelihood of investigator effects/research bias
*  this would mean that she is more likely to get a range of students in her sample, not just psychology students
*  the likelihood of demand characteristics might be reduced, improving internal validity
*  her sample would be more representative of the student population and allow her to make a wider conclusion about the effectiveness of the cognitive interview.
*  the teacher would select a random sample using either a hat/lottery/computer method and a list of all the Year 12 students.