Year 2 Research Methods Booklet (AQA A Level Psychology)

A complete, well structured and detailed information booklet for the Year 2 research methods topic (AQA A Level Psychology).

All the information students needs to support them with the research methods year 2 content. All evaluation is in the ‘PEL’ structure: (point/evidence or example and link). 22 pages.

Research Methods

• Content Analysis
• Case Studies
  Scientific Processes
• Reliability across all methods of investigation. Ways of assessing reliability: test-retest and inter-observer; improving reliability
• Types of validity cross all methods of investigation: face validity, concurrent validity, ecological validity, 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, method, results, discussion and referencing
  Data Handling & Analysis
• Levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal and interval
• Content analysis and coding
• Thematic analysis
• Inferential Testing
• Type I and Type II errors
• Factor affecting the choice of statistical test, including level of measurement and experimental design
• When to use the following tests: Spearman’s rho, Pearson’s r, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, related t-test, unrelated t-test and Chi-Squared test.