A psychologist can only truly appreciate a methodology by using it. Give two things that carrying out an investigation first-hand teaches that reading a description of the method cannot.

It shows how a procedure actually behaves with real participants, who misread instructions and respond in unforeseen ways, and it forces the researcher to make and defend the practical decisions about design, sampling and analysis that a written account presents as already settled.

What determines which methodology is the right one for a given research question?

The methodology follows from what the question asks: an experiment is needed to establish cause and effect, a correlation where two existing variables are simply measured together, and an observation or self-report where behaviour has to be described rather than manipulated.

Write a directional hypothesis for an investigation comparing recall of a word list learned with background music against recall of the same list learned in silence.

Participants who learn the word list in silence will recall significantly more words than participants who learn it with background music playing.

State the null hypothesis for a correlational investigation into hours of revision and test mark.

There will be no significant relationship between the number of hours of revision and the test mark obtained, and any relationship found is due to chance.

What does it mean to operationalise a variable, and why must it be done before any data are collected?

Operationalising means defining a variable in terms of exactly how it will be manipulated or measured, and it has to be settled first so that every participant is treated identically and another researcher can repeat the study.

WJEC A-Level Psychology 601-5719-7

Psychology Past to Present — The Five Approaches

Topic overview The Biological Approach: assumptions of the approach and applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships The Biological Approach: love chemicals, strengths and weaknesses Biological Therapy: Drug Therapy or Psychosurgery — how the approach is used in therapy Biological Therapy: Drug Therapy or Psychosurgery — effectiveness of the therapy Classic Evidence (Biological): Raine, Buchsbaum and LaCasse (1997) — methodology and findings Classic Evidence (Biological): Raine, Buchsbaum and LaCasse (1997) — conclusions The Psychodynamic Approach: assumptions of the approach The Psychodynamic Approach: personality, defence mechanisms and the formation of relationships The Psychodynamic Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach Psychodynamic Therapy: Dream Analysis or Group Analysis Psychotherapy — how the approach is used Psychodynamic Therapy: Dream Analysis or Group Analysis Psychotherapy — effectiveness of the therapy Classic Evidence (Psychodynamic): Bowlby (1944) — methodology, procedures and findings Classic Evidence (Psychodynamic): Bowlby (1944) — conclusions, ethical issues and social implications The Behaviourist Approach: assumptions of the approach The Behaviourist Approach: applying the assumptions to relationships, strengths and weaknesses Behaviourist Therapy: Aversion Therapy or Systematic Desensitisation — how the approach is used Behaviourist Therapy: Aversion Therapy or Systematic Desensitisation — effectiveness of the therapy Classic Evidence (Behaviourist): Watson and Rayner (1920) — methodology, procedures and findings Classic Evidence (Behaviourist): Watson and Rayner (1920) — conclusions The Cognitive Approach: assumptions of the approach and applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships The Cognitive Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (2)Classic Evidence (Cognitive): Loftus and Palmer (1974) — methodology, procedures and findings Classic Evidence (Cognitive): Loftus and Palmer (1974) — conclusions The Positive Approach: assumptions of the approach The Positive Approach: applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships The Positive Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach Positive Therapy: Mindfulness or Quality of Life Therapy — how the approach is used in therapy Positive Therapy: Mindfulness or Quality of Life Therapy — assumptions in practice, effectiveness and ethics Classic Evidence (Positive): Myers and Diener (1995) — methodology, procedures and findings Classic Evidence (Positive): Myers and Diener (1995) — conclusions Comparison of the Five Approaches: biological approach and psychodynamic approach Comparison of the Five Approaches: behaviourist approach, cognitive approach and positive approach

Contemporary Debates

Topic overview How to Explore a Contemporary Debate Debate: The Ethics of Neuroscience — what is at the core of the debate Debate: The Ethics of Neuroscience — arguments on each side of it Debate: The Mother as Primary Care-Giver of an Infant — what is at the core of the debate Debate: The Mother as Primary Care-Giver of an Infant — arguments on each side of it Debate: Using Conditioning Techniques to Control the Behaviour of Children Debate: Using Conditioning Techniques to Control the Behaviour of Children — arguments on each side Debate: Reliability of Eye-Witness Testimony (Including Children) — what is at the core of the debate Debate: Reliability of Eye-Witness Testimony (Including Children) — arguments on each side of it Debate: Relevance of Positive Psychology in Today's Society — what is at the core of the debate Debate: Relevance of Positive Psychology in Today's Society — arguments on each side of it

Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods

Topic overview Social Psychology Context Study: Milgram (1963) — methodology and procedures Social Psychology Context Study: Milgram (1963) — findings, ethical issues and social implications Developmental Psychology Context Study: Kohlberg (1968) — methodology, procedures and findings Developmental Psychology Context Study: Kohlberg (1968) — conclusions Deciding on a Research Question: aim of the research and null hypotheses Deciding on a Research Question: variables, operationalisation and extraneous variables Methodologies: experiments, quasi-experiments and participant observations Methodologies: non-participant observation, content analysis and interviews Methodologies: correlational studies, case studies and self-reports Location of Research: conducting research in a laboratory and in the field Location of Research: conducting research on-line Participants and Sampling: target populations, sampling frames and opportunity sampling Participants and Sampling: systematic sampling, stratified sampling and quota sampling Participants and Sampling: self-selected sampling and observational sampling techniques Experimental Design: independent groups and repeated measures Experimental Design: matched pairs Levels of Measurement: nominal data and ordinal data Levels of Measurement: interval data and ratio data Graphical Representation: bar charts and histograms Graphical Representation: scatter diagrams and choosing a display for the level of measurement Descriptive Statistics: the mean, the median and the mode Descriptive Statistics: the range, the standard deviation and choosing a measure Reliability Validity: internal validity and external validity Validity: specific validity issues and ways of dealing with issues of validity Ethics in Psychological Research: confidentiality, deception, protection from harm and risk to values Ethics in Psychological Research: valid consent, working with vulnerable individuals and ways of dealing with ethical issues Application of Research Methods to a Novel Scenario (AS): identifying the method and the variables Application of Research Methods to a Novel Scenario (AS): judging the reliability, validity and ethics

Mathematical Requirements for Psychology (Appendix A: AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4)

Topic overview Arithmetic and Numerical Computation: standard form and significant figures Arithmetic and Numerical Computation: estimating and checking a result Handling Data: means, medians, modes and ranges, percentages and percentage change Handling Data: reading a table of data and orders of magnitude Algebra Graphs: plotting and labelling a graph, gradients and intercepts Graphs: reading a value off a curve and choosing the right form of graph

Addictive BehavioursAddictive

Topic overview Addictive Behaviours: characteristics, biological explanations and the illusion of control Addictive Behaviours: individual differences explanations and social psychological explanations Addictive Behaviours: evaluating those explanations and evaluating those methods

Autistic Spectrum BehavioursAutistic spectrum

Topic overview Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: characteristics, biological and individual differences explanations Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: social psychological explanations and evaluating those explanations Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods

Bullying BehavioursBullying

Topic overview Bullying Behaviours: characteristics, biological and individual differences explanations Bullying Behaviours: social psychological explanations, evaluation and CAPSLE Bullying Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods

Criminal BehavioursCriminal

Topic overview Criminal Behaviours: characteristics, biological explanations and Eysenck's theory Criminal Behaviours: intelligence, psychopathy and social psychological explanations Criminal Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods

SchizophreniaSchizophrenia

Topic overview Schizophrenia: characteristics of the behaviour and individual differences explanations Schizophrenia: social psychological explanations and evaluating those methods

StressStress

Topic overview Stress: characteristics of the behaviour and individual differences explanations Stress: social psychological explanations and evaluating those methods

Controversies in Psychology

Topic overview Controversy: Cultural Bias — issue, and why it is controversial Controversy: Cultural Bias — applying psychological knowledge to it Controversy: Cultural Bias — judgements and conclusions Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research — issue, and why it is controversial Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research — applying psychological knowledge to it Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research — judgements and conclusions Controversy: Non-Human Animals — issue, and why it is controversial Controversy: Non-Human Animals — applying psychological knowledge to it Controversy: Non-Human Animals — judgements and conclusions Controversy: Scientific Status — issue, and why it is controversial Controversy: Scientific Status — applying psychological knowledge to it Controversy: Scientific Status — judgements and conclusions Controversy: Sexism — issue, and why it is controversial Controversy: Sexism — applying psychological knowledge to it Controversy: Sexism — judgements and conclusions

Applied Research Methods

Topic overview Personal Investigations: Research Methods Skills — planning an investigation Personal Investigations: Research Methods Skills — carrying it out ethically and analysing the data Additional Methodologies (Unit 4): brain scans Additional Methodologies (Unit 4): longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies Assessing Reliability: inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability Assessing Reliability: split-half reliability Assessing Validity: predictive validity, face validity and content validity Assessing Validity: concurrent validity and construct validity Graphical Representation: Distribution Curves — normal distribution and its properties Graphical Representation: Distribution Curves — what a distribution shows about a data set Inferential Statistics: choosing a statistical test, parametric and non-parametric tests Inferential Statistics: calculating test values and choosing a significance level Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios (A2): identifying the method and the variables Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios (A2): judging the reliability, validity and ethics

Applied Research Methods

14 subtopics
35 things to know
A2 Unit 4

What Applied Research Methods covers

Applied Research Methods is examined on A2 Unit 4 of WJEC Psychology, Psychology: Applied Research Methods. 164 recall questions across 14 subtopics.

Where it is assessed

A2 Unit 4

Psychology: Applied Research Methods.

Check the WJEC specification ↗

The 14 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Define operationalising, identify the independent variable in a study of noise and concentration, and say what a co-variable is.

Study

What is attrition, and why does it threaten a longitudinal study?

Key term

In test-retest reliability, why must the interval between the two administrations be neither too short nor too long?

Evaluation

Describe how a split-half check is carried out.

Evaluation

Give one situation in which low face validity is an advantage rather than a fault.

Key term

How would you assess the predictive validity of a university aptitude test?

Key term

What proportion of scores lies above the mean in a normal distribution, what range covers about 95% of IQ scores, and how does a small standard deviation change the curve?

Study

Name the three questions that between them decide which inferential test to use.

Key term

When is a one-tailed critical value used, and how does it compare with the two-tailed value?

Evaluation

Which code of practice must be adhered to when implementing a psychological investigation, and who publishes it?

Evaluation

How is inter-rater reliability assessed in practice?

Evaluation

How is concurrent validity assessed numerically?

Key term

In a positive skew, how do the mean, the median and the mode compare?

Key term

When you meet an unfamiliar study, what should you settle about its design before judging anything else?

Evaluation

Give one strength and one weakness of choosing a questionnaire as the methodology for an investigation.

Key term

Twelve participants recall a mean of 14 words each. State the total number of words recalled by the group.

Key term

Name three types of brain scan used in psychological research.

Key term

How would the same vocabulary question be tackled cross-sectionally?

Key term

Which of the three methods would you use to check a structured observation, and which to check a personality inventory?

Key term

How is face validity assessed?

Key term

Where do the mean, the median and the mode lie in a normal distribution?

Key term

Two separate groups of participants rank ten advertisements for persuasiveness, one group after a cheerful film and one after a sad film. Which test fits?

Numbers

Ten pairs of ranks give Σd² = 44. Calculate Spearman's rho.

Key term

A study reports that twelve children were each observed by two researchers whose records correlated at +0.91. What has been demonstrated, and what has not?

Key term

A questionnaire study reports that 45 of its 60 participants agreed with a statement. Express this as a percentage.

Key term

Two studies of the same behaviour, one longitudinal and one cross-sectional, disagree. What is the most likely source of the disagreement?

Key term

What is a co-variable, and which kind of investigation uses them?

Key term

Which graphical display suits the mean scores of two experimental conditions, and which suits a correlational investigation?

Evaluation

State the main advantage a longitudinal design has over a cross-sectional one.

Key term

What correlation coefficient is conventionally taken as showing that a measure is acceptably reliable?

Key term

A depression inventory asks only about sleep and appetite. Which type of validity is lacking, and why?

Evaluation

What is the weakness of judging a new test by concurrent validity alone?

Key term

Give two human characteristics that are normally distributed in the population.

Key term

The same participants complete a spelling test with background music and again in silence, scored out of twenty each time. Which test should be applied?

Who and when

A questionnaire study and a brain-scanning study reach opposite conclusions about anxiety. What should be weighed before deciding which to believe?

Take Applied Research Methods further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Reliability vs Validity
Reliability: consistency of measurement. Validity: whether the right thing is being measured.
Concurrent validity vs Predictive validity
Concurrent validity: correlating with another measure taken at the same time. Predictive validity: correlating with a future outcome.
Face validity vs Content validity
Face validity: a surface impression that the items look right. Content validity: an expert judgement that they cover the whole concept.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
A psychologist can only truly appreciate a methodology by using it. Give two things that carrying out an investigation first-hand teaches that reading a description of the method cannot.
Model answer
It shows how a procedure actually behaves with real participants, who misread instructions and respond in unforeseen ways, and it forces the researcher to make and defend the practical decisions about design, sampling and analysis that a written account presents as already settled.
2
What determines which methodology is the right one for a given research question?
Model answer
The methodology follows from what the question asks: an experiment is needed to establish cause and effect, a correlation where two existing variables are simply measured together, and an observation or self-report where behaviour has to be described rather than manipulated.
3
Give one strength and one weakness of choosing a questionnaire as the methodology for an investigation.
Model answer
A questionnaire gathers data from many people quickly and in a standardised form, but respondents may answer in a socially desirable way and cannot be asked to clarify what they meant.
4
Write a directional hypothesis for an investigation comparing recall of a word list learned with background music against recall of the same list learned in silence.
Model answer
Participants who learn the word list in silence will recall significantly more words than participants who learn it with background music playing.
5
State the null hypothesis for a correlational investigation into hours of revision and test mark.
Model answer
There will be no significant relationship between the number of hours of revision and the test mark obtained, and any relationship found is due to chance.
6
What does it mean to operationalise a variable, and why must it be done before any data are collected?
Model answer
Operationalising means defining a variable in terms of exactly how it will be manipulated or measured, and it has to be settled first so that every participant is treated identically and another researcher can repeat the study.

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Psychology Past to Present — The Five Approaches

Contemporary Debates

Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods

Mathematical Requirements for Psychology (Appendix A: AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4)

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Memory is .

reconstructivereproductivepermanent

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AParticipants volunteer and are already motivated.

BSamples are self-selecting.

CNo convincing placebo version exists.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

An MRI scan images structure only.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Applied Research Methods revision questions

What does Applied Research Methods cover in WJEC A-Level Psychology?: 14 subtopics: personal investigations: research methods skills — planning an investigation, personal investigations: research methods skills — carrying it out ethically and analysing the data, additional methodologies (unit 4): brain scans, additional methodologies (unit 4): longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies, assessing reliability: inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability, assessing reliability: split-half reliability, assessing validity: predictive validity, face validity and content validity, assessing validity: concurrent validity and construct validity, graphical representation: distribution curves — normal distribution and its properties, graphical representation: distribution curves — what a distribution shows about a data set, inferential statistics: choosing a statistical test, parametric and non-parametric tests, inferential statistics: calculating test values and choosing a significance level, application of research methods to novel scenarios (a2): identifying the method and the variables and application of research methods to novel scenarios (a2): judging the reliability, validity and ethics. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Applied Research Methods organised?: By the WJEC 601-5719-7 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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