IB Psychology Internal Assessment

The Task  Replicate an experiment that manipulates an Independent Variable  Write a report conforming to IB guidelines

Step 1: Choosing an experiment to replicate Guidelines: Ensure that the study has an IV that you can manipulate (not gender/age/culture) Make sure that you understand the implications of your research and why it is important. You must clearly justify your hypothesis.

Step 1: Choosing an experiment to replicate Guidelines: You cannot deceive, harm, or ask your participants to eat or drink any substances You are not expected to conduct a ‘perfect’ experiment

Step 2: Locating Sources  Locate a copy of the original experiment  Find at least 5 other studies  Analyze all of these studies by breaking them down into research design elements, theory and conclusions  Avoid internet sources unless they are journal articles

Step 3 Modifying the Research Design  You will have to modify the original experiment Sampling Reduce the number of variables Simplify the DV Use a different statistical test to determine significance

Step 3 Modifying the Research Design cont’  Independent measures design Versus repeated measures design. (Be able to justify this in your report)  Independent measures is usually best as you do not have to undertake counterbalancing to avoid the test-retest confounding variable

Step 4 Obtaining your sample of participants  The ISL student body will be your target population (experiment fatigue)  Randomly sample  You can select an opportunity/convenience sample but you will have to justify why you did this  An ideal sample is 50 students giving you two groups of 25. If you have some no-shows you will still have 20 per group

Step 4 Obtaining your sample of participants  Signed informed consent forms must be obtained (You will provide a copy of the consent form in your appendix)  Students younger than 16 will require parental consent  You must keep all forms and ensure the confidentially of data  You must collect relevant bio- data from the participants e.g. age, first language etc. You will report any relevant characteristics  You must randomly assign participants

Step 5 Ensuring Control  The two groups in your experiment should be treated exactly the same except for the IV  All instructions to the groups should be scripted to ensure they are identical  All other conditions should be identical as far as possible  Note any inadvertent differences in treatment and discuss in your report

Step 6 Ethical Considerations  Remind participants that they are free to leave the experiment at any time  Debriefing: All participants must be informed of the results of your experiment

Step 7 Analyzing the Data  Use non-parametric statistical tests of significance (Mann Whitney U-test)  Your small sample size prohibits parametric tests like the t-test.  Best to calculate your test yourself but double check with online sites  Raw data and calculations should be included in the appendix

Writing Your Report  You MUST follow the IB guidelines.  Common omissions: no abstract; data not displayed in three ways i.e. words, tables and graphs; sources not cited, no Works Sited page; no appendices (sample informed consent form, raw data, statistical test calculations, scripted instructions)  You must write like a social scientist

Student Advice  Do not underestimate the amount of time required to complete the IA  Do not choose a study that is too obscure  Scientific writing is “way harder” than you think  Think about the best time to hold your experiment so that students will turn up  Time management is the key  It is okay if you do not accept your hypothesis