AQA Specification – Research Methods:

• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Experimental Methods including; Laboratory, Field and Natural Experiments
• Variables; manipulations and control of variables including; independent, dependent, extraneous, confounding, operationalization of variables
• Aims and Hypotheses, directional, non-directional and null
• Sampling, the differences between population and sample; sampling techniques including; random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified; implications of sampling techniques, including bias and generalisability
• Pilot studies and the aims of piloting
• Experimental designs; repeated measures, matched pairs, independent groups
• Naturalistic Observation including; behavioural categories; event sampling; time sampling
• Questionnaire construction; including the use of open and closed questions
• Design of interviews
• Case Studies
• Control; random allocation, randomisations, standardisation, counterbalancing
• Demand characteristics and Investigator effects
• Ethics; including the role of the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics; ethical issues in the design and conducting of research, dealing with ethical issues in research
• The role of peer review in the scientific process
• Reliability across all methods of investigation. Ways of assessing reliability: test-retest, inter-observer, improving reliability
• Types of validity across all methods of investigation; face validity, concurrent validity, ecological validity and temporal validity. Assessment of validity. Improving validity
• Features of science: objectivity and the empirical method; replicability and falsifiability; theory construction and hypothesis testing; paradigms and paradigm shifts
• Reporting psychological investigations. Sections of a scientific report; abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and referencing
• Quantitative and qualitative data: the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques.
• Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis
• Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode)
• Measures of dispersion (range and standard deviation)
• Calculation of percentages
• Correlational analysis: positive, negative and zero correlations
• Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scatter grams and bar charts
• Distributions: normal and skewed distributions: characteristics of normal and skewed distributions
• Introduction to statistical testing: the sign test
• Probability and significance: use of statistical tables and critical values in interpretation of significance; Type 1 and Type 2 errors
• Factors affecting the choice of statistical test, including the level of measurement and experimental design. When to use the following tests: Spearman’s Rho, Pearson’s R, Wilcoxon T, Mann-Whitney U, related T-tests, unrelated T-Tests and Chi-Squared.
• Qualitative data analysis; content analysis and thematic analysis