Planning and Conducting Research Revision Notes
Subject: Psychology | Level: GCSE | Exam Board: OCR
Master the core of psychological science for your OCR GCSE. This guide breaks down how to plan and conduct research, turning complex concepts like variables, sampling, and ethics into clear, exam-focused steps. It is designed to help you secure top marks in the challenging 'Design a study' questions.
Revision Notes & Key Concepts
Key Terms & Definitions
- Operationalisation
- The process of defining variables in a precise, measurable way.
- Extraneous Variable
- Any variable, other than the IV, that could potentially affect the DV and thus confound the results.
- Demand Characteristics
- Cues in an experiment that communicate to participants what the researcher expects to find, leading them to alter their behaviour.
- Ecological Validity
- The extent to which the findings of a research study can be generalised to real-life settings.
- Reliability
- The consistency of a research study or measuring test. If the study were repeated, would it produce the same or similar results?
- Counterbalancing
- A technique used to overcome order effects in a repeated measures design. Half the participants complete the conditions in one order, and the other half complete them in the reverse order (ABBA).
Worked Examples
Worked Example
Question: A psychologist wants to investigate whether listening to classical music improves concentration. Design a study to investigate this. (13 marks)
Solution: **Aim**: To investigate the effect of listening to classical music on concentration. **Hypothesis**: Participants who listen to classical music (e.g., Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major) while completing a wordsearch puzzle will find significantly more words in 5 minutes than participants who complete the same puzzle in silence. This is a directional (one-tailed) hypothesis. **Method & Design**: I will use a **laboratory experiment** to ensure a controlled environment, which increases internal validity. The experimental design will be **independent groups**, where one group of participants completes the wordsearch while listening to classical music (Condition A) and another group completes it in silence (Condition B). I chose independent groups to avoid order effects, such as participants becoming better at the task through practice, which could occur in a repeated measures design. **Variables**: The **Independent Variable (IV)** is the condition participants are in: listening to classical music or silence. The **Dependent Variable (DV)** is the measure of concentration, operationalised as the number of words correctly found in the wordsearch puzzle within 5 minutes. **Sampling**: I will use an **opportunity sample** of 30 sixth-form students from a local college. I will approach students in the common room and ask if they are willing to participate. This is a quick and convenient method, although I acknowledge it may not be fully representative of the general population. **Procedure**: Participants will be randomly allocated to either Condition A or Condition B. Each participant will be tested individually in a quiet room. They will be given a standardised set of instructions and the same wordsearch puzzle. Those in Condition A will wear headphones playing classical music at a set volume. Those in Condition B will wear headphones that are not playing any sound. They will be timed for 5 minutes. After the time is up, the number of correctly identified words will be counted. **Ethical Considerations**: All participants will give **informed consent** after being told the study is about concentration. They will be assured of their **right to withdraw** at any point. All data will be kept anonymous to ensure **confidentiality**. After the study, all participants will receive a full **debrief**, where the true nature of the hypothesis will be explained. **Data Analysis**: The quantitative data (number of words found) will be analysed by calculating the mean and standard deviation for each condition. The results can then be displayed on a bar chart to visually compare the two conditions.
Worked Example
Question: Explain two strengths and two weaknesses of using a field experiment in psychological research. (8 marks)
Solution: **Strength 1: Higher Ecological Validity** Field experiments are conducted in a natural, real-world setting. This means that the behaviour of participants is more likely to be authentic and representative of their normal behaviour. For example, in a study on queuing behaviour, a field experiment in a real train station would have higher ecological validity than a lab-based simulation. This allows findings to be more confidently generalised to real-life situations. **Weakness 1: Less Control over Extraneous Variables** Because the research takes place in a natural environment, the researcher has less control over variables that could interfere with the study. For example, in a field experiment on the effect of a new teaching style in a classroom, other factors like noise from outside, the time of day, or even a disruptive student could influence the results. This makes it harder to establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the IV and the DV, thus lowering internal validity. **Strength 2: Reduced Demand Characteristics** In a field experiment, participants may not know they are part of a study. This reduces the likelihood of demand characteristics, where participants change their behaviour to fit what they think the researcher wants to see. This leads to more natural and valid results. **Weakness 2: Ethical Issues** If participants are unaware they are in a study, it raises significant ethical issues. They cannot give informed consent, and it may be a violation of their privacy. For example, a researcher covertly observing helping behaviour on a public street has not obtained consent from the people they are watching.
Worked Example
Question: A researcher is investigating the relationship between the number of hours a student spends on social media and their self-reported happiness score. Explain how you would conduct a correlational analysis to investigate this. (6 marks)
Solution: **Co-variables**: The two co-variables are: 1) the number of hours spent on social media per day, and 2) a self-reported happiness score. **Data Collection**: To collect data, I would use a **questionnaire**. The questionnaire would ask participants to state the average number of hours they spend on social media each day. It would also include a rating scale question, such as 'On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is not at all happy and 10 is extremely happy, how would you rate your current happiness level?'. **Data Analysis**: Once the data is collected, the pairs of scores for each participant would be plotted on a **scatterplot**. The number of hours on social media would be on one axis, and the happiness score on the other. I would then analyse the scatterplot to determine the strength and direction of the correlation. For example, a pattern of dots going from the top-left to the bottom-right would indicate a negative correlation, suggesting that as social media use increases, happiness decreases. I could also calculate a correlation coefficient to get a precise numerical value for the strength of the relationship.
Practice Questions
Question: A sports psychologist wants to know if a new visualisation technique improves the performance of basketball players. Describe how you would conduct an experiment to investigate this. (10 marks)
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Question: What is meant by 'random sampling'? Explain one strength and one weakness of this sampling method. (4 marks)
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Question: Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative data. (4 marks)
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Question: A researcher used a repeated measures design and was concerned about order effects. Explain how they could have dealt with this issue. (3 marks)
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Question: Evaluate the use of laboratory experiments in psychological research. (6 marks)
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