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.