Research Methods Exam Preparation

Here are the detailed bullet points summarizing the text:

• The speaker has created a video explaining how to attempt Paper 2 of the research methods exam, which has a new syllabus for 2024.

• Students can use past papers from 2018 onwards to prepare for Paper 2, which has a lot of general questions on research methods and hypothetical scenarios.

• Paper 1 and Paper 2 are both 1 hour 30 minutes long, and both are attempted on the question paper.

• Section A of Paper 2 has six questions, making up around 21-22 marks out of 60.

• Section B has three questions, making up around 24-25 marks.

• Section C has one question with two parts, including designing a study and evaluating its strengths.

• Section A questions cover general research methods, including definitions, strengths and weaknesses of research methods, and research method-related questions on studies in the syllabus.

• Section A questions may also cover data analysis, hypothesis, and research method terminology.

• The speaker advises students to refer to their videos on hypothesis and data analysis to prepare for these questions.

• In Paper 2, questions are more focused on research methods and are not specific to any particular study, unlike Paper 1 questions.

• The speaker explains how to answer a sample question from the specimen paper, including identifying controls in the study by Andrade.

• The speaker also explains how to answer a question on the study by Pavin, including describing how quantitative data was collected.

• Another sample question asks about the strength of collecting quantitative data, and the speaker explains how to answer this question.

• The speaker notes that data analysis questions are not very common in Paper 2, but students should still review their notes on data analysis.

• The speaker explains how to answer a sample question on standard deviation, which is a general research method concept.

• The speaker advises students to know their studies well, including the aim, sample, sampling technique, data calculation, controls, operationalization of variables, experimental design, and strengths and weaknesses.

• The speaker notes that students do not need to know the background, issues, and debates related to the studies.

• The speaker explains how to answer a sample question on the study by Pulo, including describing professional casual clothing worn by experimenters and explaining why it was necessary.

• The speaker notes that the sixth question in Section A is always a six-mark question that can cover any research method topic.

• The speaker explains how to answer a sample six-mark question on measuring dependent variables, including through observation and self-report.Here are the detailed bullet points summarizing the text:

• The speaker is discussing a psychology exam, specifically the research methods section, and emphasizing the importance of understanding research methods to answer questions correctly.

• The exam has two sections: Section A, which has six short-answer questions, and Section B, which has three hypothetical scenario-based questions.

• The speaker advises students to focus on understanding research methods and to watch a 45-minute video on the topic to help them prepare for the exam.

• In Section B, the questions are based on made-up scenarios, and students are expected to apply their knowledge of research methods to answer the questions.

• The speaker explains that correlations can be positive (when both variables increase or decrease together) or negative (when one variable increases and the other decreases).

• The first question in Section B involves a hypothetical study by Zante, who is investigating the correlation between how funny a person finds a joke and the activity in a particular brain region.

• The speaker suggests measuring how funny a person finds a joke by observing their laughter, using a self-report questionnaire, or conducting an interview.

• The second question in Section B involves Zante's new study, where she is investigating the correlation between activity in the same brain region and sad stimuli instead of funny ones.

• The speaker identifies an ethical problem with Zante's new study: the participants may be exposed to sad stimuli, which could cause them psychological harm, and their well-being is not being protected.

• The third question in Section B involves a hypothetical study by Robin, who is investigating the use of social media by 13- to 14-year-old children using a questionnaire.

• The speaker suggests that Robin could use an open-ended question to collect qualitative data, such as asking how the children react when they don't have access to social media.

• The speaker notes that children may provide socially desirable responses (lies) instead of truthful answers, which is a validity issue.

• To reduce the problem of lying, Robin could ensure the confidentiality of the participants' responses, making them feel more comfortable providing honest answers.

• The speaker suggests that Robin could use an opportunity sample or volunteer sampling to obtain a wide range of children in his sample.

• Having a wide range of children in the sample is important for generalizability and representativeness of the findings.

• The final question in Section B involves a hypothetical study by Juan, who is investigating attitudes to mental health using interviews.

• The speaker suggests that Juan could use a closed question, such as asking if the participants think mental health awareness is important or a growing issue in society.

• A weakness of using closed questions is that they do not allow for much qualitative data to be collected, as participants can only respond according to the limited options provided.

• Two advantages of using an interview over a questionnaire are that interviews allow for more qualitative data to be collected and enable more verbal and nonverbal communication between the researcher and participant.- Interviews provide more qualitative data compared to questionnaires because participants provide their own opinions and answers verbally, and the interviewer can ask additional questions for more information.

Unstructured interviews allow the researcher to ask further questions on the spot, which cannot be done in a questionnaire.
One weakness of using an opportunity sample is that the researcher cannot control the specific features of the participants, which may lead to similar responses and lower generalizability.
The format of the exam has changed, combining the first nine questions into Section A, and the designer study question is now Section B.
Section B requires designing a study with a given aim and type of study, and answering two parts: a practical or methodological strength of the study and why it is a strength.
The exam can ask to design different types of studies, such as experiments, observational studies, self-report studies, or longitudinal studies, each with specific features and requirements.
To answer the designer study question, one needs to have a good understanding of research method concepts and techniques, such as structured observations and interviews.
Brushing up on research method concepts, such as correlational studies and longitudinal studies, is essential to answer the designer study question correctly.
The exam format has changed, but the key concepts and requirements remain the same.