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Psychology
·
Cambridge A-Level
Research methods
Syllabus Learning Objectives
0 / 63 completed
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Learning Outcomes
01
describe the main features of each type of experiment: – laboratory – field
02
describe and evaluate experimental designs as used in psychological research (independent measures, matched pairs and repeated measures)
03
describe and evaluate concepts relating to experimental designs including counterbalancing, random allocation, order effects (fatigue and practice)
04
describe the main features of each type of self-report: – questionnaire, including technique (paper and pencil / online) and question format (open and closed questions) – interview, including format (structured / unstructured / semi-structured), technique (telephone / face-to-face) and question format (open and closed questions)
05
describe the case study method, including the main features: a single participant/unit; studied in detail
06
describe the main features of an observation (e.g. overt / covert, participant / non-participant, structured / unstructured, naturalistic / controlled)
07
describe correlations, positive and negative correlations and strength of correlations
08
identify and give operational definitions for co-variables (measured variables)
09
describe longitudinal studies, including experiments with longitudinal designs
10
describe and write aims
11
describe and recognise null hypotheses and alternative hypotheses including directional (one-tailed) and non-directional (two-tailed) hypotheses.
12
describe what is meant by an independent variable and a dependent variable
13
describe how dependent variables can be measured
14
identify independent variables and dependent variables in studies
15
understand what is meant by an ‘operational definition’
16
describe how psychologists can control variables (use ‘controls’) in a study
17
understand control of variables / standardisation of a procedure
18
understand uncontrolled, participant and situational variables
19
describe what is meant by quantitative and qualitative data and subjective and objective data
20
describe what is meant by the sample and population, and the sampling techniques of opportunity sampling, random sampling and volunteer (self-selecting) sampling
21
describe ethical guidelines as used in psychological research, in relation to human participants: – minimising harm (and maximising benefit) – valid consent including informed consent – right to withdraw – lack of deception – confidentiality – privacy – debriefing
22
describe ethical guidelines as used in psychological research, in relation to animals: – minimising harm (and maximising benefit) – replacement – species – numbers – procedures ○ pain, suffering and distress ○ housing ○ reward, deprivation and aversive stimuli
23
describe validity, including ecological validity
24
describe different types of reliability, including inter-rater and inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability
25
understand replicability
26
present and interpret data in tables
27
understand the meaning of ‘measure of central tendency’
28
name, recognise and know how to find measures of central tendency: – mode – median (no calculation necessary) – mean (no calculation necessary)
29
understand the meaning of ‘measure of spread’ – name, recognise and know how to find range – recognise, interpret and understand standard deviation
30
name, recognise, draw, change and interpret data from a: – bar chart – histogram – scatter graph.
31
describe and evaluate the main features of randomised control trials.
32
describe and evaluate the use of postal questionnaires
33
describe and evaluate the use of rating scales; forced/fixed choice.
34
describe and evaluate psychometric tests.
35
write and apply knowledge of null hypotheses and alternative directional (one-tailed) and non-directional (two-tailed) hypotheses.
36
describe and evaluate studies based on their validity, including temporal validity.
37
apply knowledge of experiments to a given novel research scenario.
38
apply knowledge of self-reports to a given novel research scenario.
39
apply knowledge of case studies to a given novel research scenario.
40
apply knowledge of observations to a given novel research scenario.
41
apply knowledge of correlations to a given novel research scenario.
42
apply knowledge of longitudinal studies, including experiments with longitudinal designs, to a given novel research scenario.
43
operationalise: – an independent variable – a dependent variable
44
apply knowledge of variables to a novel research situation.
45
apply knowledge of control of variables (‘controls’) to a novel research situation.
46
apply knowledge of types of data to a novel research situation.
47
apply knowledge of sampling techniques to a novel research situation.
48
apply knowledge of ethical guidelines to a novel research situation.
49
apply knowledge of validity to a novel research situation.
50
apply knowledge of reliability to a given novel research situation
51
apply understanding of replicability to the planning of studies.
52
evaluate each type of experiment, in terms of: – reliability – validity – ethics
53
evaluate the use of experiments in psychological research, including the use of experimental and control groups / control conditions
54
evaluate the use of self-reports in psychological research
55
evaluate the use of case studies in psychological research
56
evaluate the use of observations in psychological research
57
evaluate the use of correlations in psychological research, including lack of causality
58
evaluate the use of longitudinal studies, including experiments with longitudinal designs
59
evaluate the use of types of data as collected in psychological research
60
evaluate different sampling techniques as used in psychological research, including generalisations
61
evaluate studies based on ethical guidelines
62
evaluate studies based on their validity: – subjectivity / objectivity – demand characteristics – generalisability
63
evaluate studies based on their reliability
