OCR A-Level Psychology H567
Research Methods and Techniques
Planning and Conducting Research
Data Recording, Analysis and Presentation
Report Writing and Scientific Communication
Practical Activities and the Nature of Science
Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods
Studying and Evaluating the Core Studies: The Common Framework
Core Studies: Social Area
Core Studies: Cognitive Area
Core Studies: Developmental Area
Core Studies: Biological Area
Core Studies: Individual Differences Area
Areas and Perspectives in Psychology
Debates in Psychology
Practical Applications of Psychology
Issues in Mental Health
Child PsychologyApplied option
Criminal PsychologyApplied option
Environmental PsychologyApplied option
Sport and Exercise PsychologyApplied option
Methodological Issues and Debates Running Through Applied Psychology
Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods
- 18 subtopics
- 53 things to know
- Component 01
What Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods covers
Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods is examined on component 01 of OCR Psychology, Research methods. 186 recall questions across 18 subtopics.
Where it is assessed
Component 01
Research methods, the whole of the first paper.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 18 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Decimal and standard form, percentages and ratiosRecall questions on comparing and converting values in standard form and decimal form, the direction of decimal point shifts, calculating percentages, and expressing a gender split as a ratio in its simplest form.Open →
- Fractions, percentages and estimating resultsRecall questions on fractions and percentages of samples, pie chart angles, why percentages help compare groups, small-sample percentages, estimating ranges and means, impossible percentages, and converting between fractions, decimals and percentages.Open →
- Significant figures and calculating the meanRecall questions on what a significant figure is, rounding values to two and three significant figures, reporting correlation coefficients and means sensibly, and calculating arithmetic means.Open →
- Median, mode and choosing a measure of central tendencyRecall questions on defining and calculating the median and mode, the only measure for nominal data, which measure uses every score, comparing mean and median with an outlier, and when the mean is most appropriate.Open →
- The range and standard deviationRecall questions on calculating and evaluating the range, what the standard deviation measures and how to calculate it, comparing conditions with different standard deviations, outliers, and reporting dispersion with central tendency.Open →
- Frequency tables, bar charts, histograms and scatter diagramsRecall questions on frequency tables and tally charts, when to use bar charts and histograms and how they differ, labelling graphs, and recognising positive, negative and no correlation on scatter diagrams.Open →
- Correlation coefficients, pie charts and translating between data formsRecall questions on interpreting scatter diagrams and correlation coefficients, translating between graphical, numerical and algebraic forms, calculating pie chart sectors, and choosing pie charts, line graphs and other displays.Open →
- Probability, significance levels and principles of samplingRecall questions on probability and levels of significance, p ≤ 0.05 and 0.01, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, why hypotheses are never proved, and calculating and describing random and stratified samples and why samples can be unrepresentative.Open →
- Normal and skewed distributionsRecall questions on the shape of normal distributions, the proportion of scores within one standard deviation, positively and negatively skewed distributions and the order of their averages, and why distribution matters.Open →
- Selecting an inferential testRecall questions on what must be known before using a table of critical values, the three questions for choosing an inferential test, which test fits each design and level of data, parametric criteria, and why non-parametric tests are common.Open →
- Critical values and deciding whether a result is significantRecall questions on what a critical value is, the information needed to find one, one-tailed and two-tailed values, which tests need calculated values below or above the critical value, and deciding significance for Wilcoxon, chi-square and Mann-Whitney results.Open →
- Calculating chi-square, sign test, Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney values and reporting resultsRecall questions on ranking tied scores, calculating expected frequencies and cell contributions to chi-square, finding N and S for the binomial sign test, and how to report and qualify a significant result.Open →
- Distinguishing levels of measurementRecall questions on the three levels of measurement, why nominal data cannot be ranked or averaged, what ordinal data adds, why rating scales are ordinal, and why means suit interval data.Open →
- Identifying levels of measurement in quantitative and qualitative dataRecall questions on what is lost converting interval to ordinal data, identifying the level of measurement in example studies, the level of qualitative data, weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative data, and converting transcripts into numbers.Open →
- Converting qualitative data and primary and secondary dataRecall questions on calculating a mean from content analysis counts, what is lost when qualitative data is counted, how the same data can be primary or secondary, checking published statistics, and strengths and weaknesses of primary and secondary data.Open →
- Order of magnitude estimates and statistical symbolsRecall questions on order of magnitude calculations, estimating and calculating means, comparing sample sizes by orders of magnitude, spotting impossible results, and the symbols <, >, ~, ∝ and those for significance levels.Open →
- Reporting significance in symbols and substituting into formulaeRecall questions on reporting a significant Wilcoxon result, what p > 0.05 means, the symbols Σ, N and x̄, the formula for the mean, rearranging it to find a total or the number of scores, and the Spearman's rho formula.Open →
- Solving equations for Spearman's rho and chi-squareRecall questions on calculating Spearman's rho, interpreting rho values, the chi-square formula, calculating and using degrees of freedom, and why N and units must be substituted correctly into formulae.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How is the arithmetic mean calculated?
For the scores 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 43, explain which measure better represents the data set.
Why do the bars of a histogram touch?
Why is a scatter diagram not the right display for an experiment comparing two conditions?
Why is even a properly random sample sometimes unrepresentative?
Name the three questions that determine which inferential test to use.
Why are non-parametric tests used so widely in psychology?
Why is it harder to obtain a significant result with a two-tailed test?
A chi-square test gives a calculated value of 4.10 against a critical value of 5.99 at p ≤ 0.05. What is concluded?
State the one thing ordinal data tells you that nominal data does not.
Why can a mean be calculated from interval data but not properly from ordinal data?
In an observation, 45 of the 120 recorded behaviours were aggressive. What percentage is this?
How do you convert a percentage of a sample into an angle for a pie chart?
A set of scores has a range of 24 and the lowest score is 7. What is the highest score?
A data set contains one extremely high outlier. Why may neither the range nor the standard deviation describe its spread well?
When is a bar chart the appropriate display?
When is a pie chart a suitable display?
Explain the difference between the 0.05 and the 0.01 levels of significance.
Why is a sample used rather than the whole population?
Why does it matter whether a set of scores is normally distributed?
How should the outcome of a significant test be stated in a report?
How can an interview transcript be converted into quantitative data?
What is lost when qualitative data is converted into frequency counts?
One study uses a sample of 20 and another uses 2000. By how many orders of magnitude do the samples differ?
What does p > 0.05 tell you about a result?
Which is the larger value, 3.0 × 10⁻³ or 5.0 × 10⁻⁴, and how many times larger is it?
What is the main danger of reporting a percentage from a very small sample?
Find the range of the scores 14, 18, 22, 29 and 35.
A Mann-Whitney U test yields U = 23 with a critical value of 27. State the outcome.
What is lost when interval data is converted into ordinal data for a test?
A content analysis of 20 transcripts finds the word stressed used 64 times in total. What is the mean number of uses per transcript?
What is an order of magnitude calculation?
Write out the conventional way of reporting a significant Wilcoxon result in symbols and words.
In a Spearman's rho calculation N is 10 and Σd² is 33. Calculate rₛ.
Why should a calculated value of rₛ never be greater than 1?
Convert 3.2 × 10⁻² into decimal form.
A set of scores runs from a lowest value of 12 to a highest value of 47. Estimate the range.
What is meant by a significant figure?
Define the median.
What does the standard deviation measure?
What is a frequency table?
What does the closeness of the points to a straight line indicate?
What does probability express in psychological research?
What effect does an unrepresentative sample have on the conclusions of a study?
Which test is used for a difference between two conditions with an independent measures design and ordinal data?
Which three pieces of information are needed to find a critical value in a table?
How is the expected frequency for a cell in a chi-square calculation worked out?
Name the three levels of measurement.
Give two examples of secondary data used in psychology.
A total of 12,000 points was scored by 240 participants. What is the mean score?
What do N and x̄ stand for in statistical formulae?
How are the degrees of freedom for a chi-square test calculated?
Take Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Significant figure vs Order of magnitude
Significant figure: a digit that carries meaning about the precision of a number. Order of magnitude: the size of a number to the nearest power of ten.
Critical value vs Level of significance
Critical value: the number from a statistical table that the calculated value must be compared against. Level of significance: the probability of a result arising by chance that a researcher is willing to accept.
Positively skewed distribution vs Negatively skewed distribution
Positively skewed distribution: a distribution whose long tail stretches towards the high scores. Negatively skewed distribution: a distribution whose long tail stretches towards the low scores.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which is the larger value, 3.0 × 10⁻³ or 5.0 × 10⁻⁴, and how many times larger is it?
Model answer
3.0 × 10⁻³ is the larger value and it is six times the size of 5.0 × 10⁻⁴.
- 2
Write 0.0045 in standard form.
Model answer
It is written as 4.5 × 10⁻³.
- 3
Convert 3.2 × 10⁻² into decimal form.
Model answer
In decimal form it is 0.032.
- 4
A results table records a value as 1.25 × 10⁴. State this in decimal form.
Model answer
It is 12,500.
- 5
Why might a researcher convert values from standard form into decimal form before drawing a pie chart?
Model answer
Because the sector sizes have to be worked out from ordinary decimal amounts, which are easier to compare and to convert into degrees.
- 6
What tells you the direction of the decimal point shift in standard form?
Model answer
A positive power of ten means the number is larger than 10 and the point moves right, while a negative power means it is smaller than 1 and the point moves left.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods revision questions
- What does Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods cover in OCR A-Level Psychology?
- 18 subtopics: decimal and standard form, percentages and ratios, fractions, percentages and estimating results, significant figures and calculating the mean, median, mode and choosing a measure of central tendency, the range and standard deviation, frequency tables, bar charts, histograms and scatter diagrams, correlation coefficients, pie charts and translating between data forms, probability, significance levels and principles of sampling, normal and skewed distributions, selecting an inferential test, critical values and deciding whether a result is significant, calculating chi-square, sign test, wilcoxon and mann-whitney values and reporting results, distinguishing levels of measurement, identifying levels of measurement in quantitative and qualitative data, converting qualitative data and primary and secondary data, order of magnitude estimates and statistical symbols, reporting significance in symbols and substituting into formulae and solving equations for spearman's rho and chi-square. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods organised?
- By the OCR H567 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Mathematical Requirements for Research Methods, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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