Research methods for Unit 2 for Unit 2. Every mark counts There are 12 marks of Research Methods questions.

Research methods for

Unit 2for

Unit 2

Every mark counts There are 12 marks

of Research Methods questions

There are 12 marks

of Research Methods questions

Question type 1Ethical issues

(a) Explain why it is sometimes necessary to deceive participants in social influence research. (2 marks)

(b) Describe one way in which deception has been dealt with in social influence research. (2 marks)

Not good at providing

information of how to deal with issues.

Not good at providing

information of how to deal with issues.

Question type 2Methodological issues

(a) Milgram’s work can be criticised for being unethical. Describe one way in which his work is unethical. (2 marks)

(b) Give one strength and one limitation of Milgram’s methodology. (2 marks + 2 marks)

Some psychologists criticise Milgram’s research into obedience to authority, in terms of both methodological issues and ethical issues. Explain two criticisms of Milgram’s research. (3 marks + 3 marks)

Didn’t read carefully

and failed to focus on methodolo

gy

Didn’t read carefully

and failed to focus on methodolo

gy

‘Right to withdraw’

is not appropriate

.

‘Right to withdraw’

is not appropriate

.

Question type 3Questionnaires and interviews

(a) Questionnaires have been used by psychologists to investigate stress.

Explain one possible ethical issue that might arise when using questionnaires in this area of psychology. (2 marks)

(b) Apart from ethics, explain one other problem of using questionnaires to investigate stress. (2 marks) Did

ethics anyway.

Did ethics

anyway.

Question type 4The importance of one

Outline one advantage and one disadvantage of using questionnaires in stress research. (3 marks + 3 marks)

Often just gained one mark because

linked several together, answers

lacked detail.

Often just gained one mark because

linked several together, answers

lacked detail.

Might be asked for two …

Both life changes and daily hassles are often measured using questionnaires. Give two limitations of using questionnaires. (2 marks + 2 marks)

Psychologists sometimes use questionnaires to find out about stress. Explain two strengths of using questionnaires in research. (2 marks + 2 marks)

Spot the mistake

Questionnaires and interviews are both self-report techniques. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using a questionnaire rather than an interview. (4 marks)

Answer: One advantage is that people may feel better able to give private information in a questionnaire because they feel more anonymous.Answer: One disadvantage is that you may get a problem with social desirability bias, because people want to ‘look good’ in their answers.

A tricky one

A researcher used a questionnaire and an in-depth interview to assess Georgia’s personality. After completing the questionnaire Georgia was found to be Type A. However, after the in-depth interview she was found to be Type B.

Explain why these methods might produce such different results. (4 marks)Some students think that questionnaires could

only use closed questions and interviews only use open questions.

Question type 5Correlations

Outline one strength and one weakness of using correlations in stress research. (4 marks)

Rarely able to give a strength.

Rarely able to give a strength.

Question type 6Experiments and lab studies

(a) Outline one advantage of conducting obedience research outside a laboratory setting. (2 marks)

(b) Outline one limitation of conducting obedience research outside a laboratory setting. (2 marks)

Most research into conformity takes place in a laboratory. Outline one strength of conducting research into conformity in a laboratory. (2 marks)

WATCH OUT

Some answered a and b in

wrong order.

WATCH OUT

Some answered a and b in

wrong order.

Question type 7Other methods Case studies are a commonly used method of

investigating abnormality.

(a) What is meant by a case study? (2 marks)(b) Outline one weakness of using a case study

as a method of investigation. (2 marks)

How have psychologists investigated the relationship between stress and the immune system? (4 marks)

(a) Outline one method that psychologists have used to study conformity. (2 marks)

(b) Explain one limitation of this method. (2 marks)

(c) Suggest an appropriate way of overcoming this limitation. (2 marks)

Ethics not a

limitation.

Ethics not a

limitation.

Question type 8: TablesTwo different drug therapies were tested on a group of patients. All the patients suffered with the same anxiety disorder. Half the patients were given Therapy A and the other half were given Therapy B. Improvement was assessed on a scale from 0 – 25, where 0 = no improvement.

The table below shows the improvement made between the start and the end of the treatment.

Average and range of improvement scores

Explain what these findings suggest about the different therapies? (4 marks)

Average Range

Therapy A 6.5 2 – 19

Therapy B 6 4 – 9

Drawing conclusions from data seems to be a topic that candidates find hard.

Distinguish findings from what the findings show (findings vs conclusions).

The following results are percentages of participants who gave the maximum shock, in variations of Milgram’s experiment into obedience to authority.

What do these results suggest about the power of the confederates in variations of Milgram’s study? (4 marks)

Condition %

Participants obeying

Experimenter and two obedient confederates are in the same room as the participant.

92.5%

Experimenter is in the same room as the participant.

65%

Experimenter is in a different room from the participant.

20.5%

Experimenter and two disobedient confederates are in the same room as the participant.

10%

Question type 8: Tables

Question only asked about the confederates.Some students seemed to think that the confederates were a majority.

In an experiment into conformity, an experimenter varied both the number of confederates (stooges) and the ambiguity of the task. The bar chart on the right shows the findings.

What does the bar chart show about conformity? (4 marks)

Question type 9: Graphs

Many went beyond graph and related it to Asch, not creditworthy.