Practise selecting and applying experiments, self-reports, case studies, observations, correlations and longitudinal designs to unfamiliar research scenarios.
Describe the following experimental designs, using any example(s):
- matched pairs design
- repeated measures design.
Chyou is conducting a self-report about students' subject choices. Four of her questions are:
A Describe how much you like maths.
B How much do you enjoy studying science?
0= do not enjoy it at all, 5= enjoy it a lot.
C "I have always known what subjects I want to study."
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
strongly agree / agree / neither agree nor disagree / disagree / strongly disagree.
D Write about whether you would like to be a doctor.
Identify one closed question from A to D.
Identify one open question from A to D.
Chyou has written two questions to investigate the process of students choosing their subjects.
E How old were you when you decided you did or did not like science?
F Describe how you felt when you made your final decision about subject choices.
State one strength of question E.
State one strength of question F.
Suggest two questions Chyou could ask to investigate factors affecting students' subject choices.
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State the two main features of a case study.
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Explain why the study by Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) was a case study, in relation to these two main features.
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Explain what is meant by a covert observation, using any example.
Bhaavik is interested in the relationship between shyness and happiness. He says to his friend Jim that the shy people he knows are really happy, but Jim says he knows lots of happy people who are not shy.
Describe how Bhaavik could conduct a correlational study to investigate the relationship between shyness and happiness.
Do not describe sample/sampling technique or ethical issues/guidelines in your answer.
Describe one practical/methodological strength of the procedure you have described in your answer to part (a).
Do not refer to sampling or ethics in your answer.
Describe one practical/methodological weakness of the procedure you have described in your answer to part (a).
Do not refer to sampling or ethics in your answer.
Dr Gao is planning a longitudinal study about changes in reading habits. She will study the same group of participants from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood.
Dr Gao will need to contact her participants at regular intervals.
Dr Gao is deciding how often to test her participants, and is considering:
- weekly
- yearly.
Explain which of these intervals is the most suitable for Dr Gao's study.
Suggest how Dr Gao could contact her participants during the study.
Suggest two problems that Dr Gao may have when trying to contact her participants at regular intervals.
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A colleague, Dr Roberts, says that the study could be conducted by comparing participants of different ages at one point in time.
Suggest one advantage of Dr Roberts' idea, compared to Dr Gao's plan for a longitudinal study.
Do not refer to contacting participants in your answer.