AQA A LevelPsychologyUnit Assessment

Research Methods Year 2(Edition 1)

h 1 hour

h The maximum mark for this unit assessment is 48 marks

UNIT ASSESSMENT

Name

Centre Name

SAMPLE

©

Page 2 AQA A Level Psychology Unit Assessment

READ THE ITEM AND THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW

A Level Psychology Unit AssessmentSection A: Research Methods

A psychology teacher wanted to see whether caffeine has an effect on concentration levels. A group of ten psychology students from the sixth form college where she taught were recruited and were asked to report to the psychology department at 10am the following morning. All of the participants were tested at the same time and when they arrived they were each seated in front of a computer, which timed how long it took them (in seconds) to spot five typing errors in a short piece of text. They were then asked to drink a canned drink containing caffeine and told to come back in an hour. When they returned they were given a different piece of text and again timed to see how long it took them to spot five typing errors.

01 What is the operationalised independent variable in this study? (2 marks)

02 What is the operationalised dependent variable in this study? (2 marks)

03 Which experimental design has been used in this study? (1 mark)SAMPLE

©

Page 4 AQA A Level Psychology Unit Assessment

06 Explain how the teacher could have obtained her participants using systematic sampling. (2 marks)

07 The psychology teacher needed to be sure that the students understood the nature of the study so that they were able to give informed consent. Write a consent form which would be suitable for this study. Make sure that there is sufficient information about the study for the students to make an informed decision.

(6 marks)

The results of the study are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Time taken for both conditions (in seconds)

Participant no. Condition 1 (no caffeine) Condition 2 (caffeine)

1 256 298

2 312 335

3 286 262

4 652 612

5 356 313

6 215 198

7 276 278

8 289 263

9 306 285

10 252 215

SAMPLE

MARK SCHEME

Mark Scheme

Research Methods Year 2(Edition 1)

AQA A LevelPsychologyUnit Assessment

SAMPLE

©

Page 2 AQA A Level Psychology Unit Assessment Mark Scheme

Section A: Research Methods

A psychology teacher wanted to see whether caffeine has an effect on concentration levels. A group of ten psychology students from the sixth form college where she taught were recruited and were asked to report to the psychology department at 10am the following morning. All of the participants were tested at the same time and when they arrived they were each seated in front of a computer, which timed how long it took them (in seconds) to spot five typing errors in a short piece of text. They were then asked to drink a canned drink containing caffeine and told to come back in an hour. When they returned they were given a different piece of text and again timed to see how long it took them to spot five typing errors.

Marks for this question: AO2 = 2

01 What is the operationalised independent variable in this study? (2 marks)

h 2 marks for identification of operationalised independent variable: whether the participants had drunk one caffeine drink or had no caffeine.

Or

h 1 mark for independent variable not operationalised (e.g. caffeine or no caffeine) or only one condition identified (e.g. whether participants had been given a caffeine drink).

Marks for this question: AO2 = 2

02 What is the operationalised dependent variable in this study? (2 marks)

h 2 marks for identification of operationalised dependent variable: the time taken in seconds to spot five errors in a short piece of text.

Or

h 1 mark for dependent variable not operationalised: the time taken.

Marks for this question: AO2 = 1

03 Which experimental design has been used in this study? (1 mark)

h 1 mark for correctly identifying it is a repeated measures design.

READ THE ITEM AND THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW

SAMPLE

©

AQA A Level Psychology Unit Assessment Mark Scheme Page 5

07 The psychology teacher needed to be sure that the students understood the nature of the study so that they were able to give informed consent. Write a consent form which would be suitable for this study. Make sure that there is sufficient information about the study for the students to make an informed decision.

(6 marks)

Marks for this question: AO2 = 6

Level Description Marks

3 The consent form is clear and concise and explicitly relevant to the investigation described in the stem. The form includes sufficient information so that participants can make a fully informed decision including the right to withdraw. Specialist terminology is used effectively.

5–6 marks

2 The consent form is reasonably clear and concise and is mainly relevant to the investigation described in the stem. The form includes sufficient information so that participants can make an informed decision. There is some appropriate use of specialist terminology.

3-4 marks

1 The consent form shows some lack of clarity and conciseness and material is not always relevant to the investigation described in the stem. There are some omissions meaning that participants would find it difficult to make a decision. Specialist terminology is either absent or inappropriately used.

1-2 marks

No relevant content. 0

The consent form would need to contain sufficient information for the participant to understand what they need to do. The form should contain information on some of the following:

h The purpose of the study – e.g. to investigate the effects of caffeine

h That they will be using a computer

h That they will have to look for five errors in two pieces of text

h That they will be timed while they do it

h After finding the errors in the first piece of text they will be given a caffeine drink

h They will then be sent away for an hour

h When they come back they will be asked to find the errors in the second piece of text

h That they have the right to withdraw at any point

h Reassurance about the confidentiality of their data

It is not necessary for candidates to include all of the above points for full marks.

If it is just a description of what would be included in the form, rather than written as an actual form that would be given to the students, award a maximum of 2 marks.

Credit other relevant information.

SAMPLE

©

Page 10 AQA A Level Psychology Unit Assessment Mark Scheme

Assessment Objective GridQuestion number AO1 AO2 AO3 Total

1 2 RM 2

2 2 RM 2

3 1 RM 1

4 2 RM 2 RM 4

5 3 RM 3

6 2 RM 2

7 6 RM 6

8 2 RM/Maths 2

9 2 RM/Maths 2

10 2 RM/Maths 2

11 1 RM/Maths 1

12 4 RM/Maths 4

13 2 RM/Maths 2

14 3 RM/Maths 3

15 12 RM 12

Total 3 36 9 48

SAMPLE