Write down your concerns… How are you findings the lessons so far? What have you enjoyed? What do you want to change about the lesson?

Today: Thematic analysis presentations What goes in to a psychological report Features of science

The importance of accurate report writing. Psychological research is published in journals Clear, accurate and informative Used by the public for information Researchers will replicate the research using the report for information. Reports must be peer reviewed whereby an independent body will review the work before it is entered into a journal

ABSTRACT The first section of a psychological report is a concise summary of the report. It is about 150-250 words and tells the reader about the major elements of the report, including; aim, hypotheses, method, results and conclusions. Abstracts mean that researchers do not have to read hundreds of reports when conducting new research, but instead hundreds of abstracts. They use these to find the most relevant reports to read in full.

INTRODUCTION This is a literature review and overview of the current research field. It is written using the funnel technique, so that broad themes are covered first, and these are narrowed in closer and closer to the current piece of research. It begins with discussing previous research in the field, and gaps in the research. This outline your rationale (reason) behind deciding to conduct your research. It ends with the aim and the hypothesis of the current research. “Previous research states that…….” This research is incomplete as it has not considered…….” “Based on this previous research, the aim of this study is……” “Therefore the hypothesis for this study is……”

What makes these two hypotheses different from each other? AIM AND HYPOTHESIS The aim states the purpose of the study: “ To investigate….” The hypothesis states what is going to be tested, and the expected outcome: “The IV will have a significant effect on the DV” or The IV will cause the DV to increase”. What makes these two hypotheses different from each other?

METHOD The method section should be detailed enough so that if someone else picks up the report, they could replicate the research. It should include the following elements: Design and Method Sample and Participants Apparatus/Equipment Procedure Ethics

E.g. independent groups, naturalistic observation Design and Method E.g. independent groups, naturalistic observation Sample and Participants The sampling method, number of participants, and general demography Apparatus/Equipment Any materials used e.g. word lists, images, etc Procedure A full account of how the experiment or observation took place, including standardised instructions and everything said to the participants in de/briefing. Also noting control for extraneous variables here Ethics Acknowledgement of possible ethical issues and explanations of how occurring ethical issues were dealt with

Task: Scrambled egg activity Imagine you are writing for a recipe book, can you create a standardised procedure for how to make scrambled eggs? Have you written quantities? Have you written the origins of your product? Have you written times? Have you written what happens at the end with all the dirty stuff?

RESULTS This section should include key findings in relation to the hypothesis Descriptive statistics include tables, graphs and charts, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion Inferential statistics refer to the choice of statistic test (and why), the calculated values and the critical values, as well as the level of significance NB In qualitative research, the results will more likely include analysis of themes and categories.

DISCUSSION The results should be verbally summarised at the start of the discussion, and this includes relating them to the aim and the hypothesis stated in the introduction. The researcher then compares the results to the previous research outlined in the introduction. Any limitations of the research will be discussed, and possible suggestions of addressing these in future research. The implications of the research for real life are essential – what contribution has the research made?

REFERENCING The reference section includes all of the sources the researcher used to gather their initial information and apparatus for their investigation; e.g. books, articles, websites. Different publishers use different referencing styles, but in psychology it usually APA style: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number, page range. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ BOOK JOURNAL ARTICLE

APPENDICES Any materials used for any part of the research go here: e.g. Consent form Debrief form Questionnaires Diagrams Raw data Statistical calculations

FORMAT The report should be written in the THIRD person e.g. “the researcher/s…”, and language should be formal, and technical e.g. using key terms The visual format of the report can be important too, but this varies on who it is being shown to. At university, my psychology professors required: Arial, 12pt, 1.5 lines, Justified.

VISUAL FORMAT So, all of my psychology research reports looked a bit like this. The 1.5 line spacing meant that when marking it by hand, my lecturers and professors had space in between each line to add comments and corrections, and the justified alignment meant that the edges of each page looked neat and tidy, as if I’d written using a ruler. The size 12 font is generally accepted as an easy font size to read when printed, but on screen it is tiny, so I’ve enlarged this to size 20 so that you can still read it! We also had to ensure sub-headings all matched, and most lecturers wanted them in caps, underlined and left-aligned as I’ve done here, but this again can vary.

EXAM QUESTIONS Briefly outline what information psychologists should include within an abstract when reporting psychological investigations [2 marks] List four sub sections that should be included within the method section of a psychological report [4 marks] Identify and outline two sections of a scientific report [6 marks]

MARK SCHEME The abstract should tell the reader about the major elements of the report such as the aim, hypotheses, method, results and conclusions . The main aim of the abstract is to give the reader a summary of what the report is about. Accept any four of the following: Research Design, Research Method, Sample, Sampling Method, Participants, Apparatus/Equipment, Procedure, Standardised Instructions, Ethics

MARK SCHEME [1 + 2 marks, and 1 + 2 marks] 1 mark for naming a section, and 2 marks for a brief explanation of what should be included within the section. Any of the following sections would be accepted: Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Referencing. The introduction begins with discussing previous research in the field, and possible gaps in the research. The researcher will start the introduction outlining their rationale for conducting the research and conclude with the aim and the hypothesis of the current research. The results section include all key findings in relation to the hypothesis. This section will contain Descriptive statistics including tables, graphs and charts, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion as well as Inferential statistics such as which statistical test was used and why.

Features of science

Features of Science As you can see from the specification there are a number of areas or features to explore here. All relate to the features of science or what exactly we mean by ‘science’. They include: Objectivity and the empirical method Replicability Falsifiability Theory construction and hypothesis testing Paradigms and paradigm shifts 15 February 2019

Features of science Science is dependent on empirical methods so empiricism is at the heart of science The key features of science are (taken straight from the specification) • Objectivity (and the empirical method), Replicability and falsifiability • Theory construction and Hypothesis testing • Paradigms and paradigm shifts TASK: Select a number between 1-3. Write about your key feature of science using the worksheet and the powerpoint available on the website

Activity 1 Read the statements and decide which feature of science is being explained. It is the principle that a proposition or theory could only be considered scientific if in principle it was possible to establish it as false. One of the criticisms of some branches of psychology, e.g. Freud’s theory, is that they lack falsifiability. If something is objective it is not affected by the personal feelings and experiences of the researcher. The researcher should remain value-free and unbiased when conducting their investigations. A study should produce the same results if repeated exactly, either by the same researcher or by another to check and verify scientific information. In psychology, a theory is a proposed explanation for the causes of behaviour. To be scientific, a theory needs to be a logically organized set of propositions that defines events, describes relationships among events, and explains and predicts the occurrence of events. A scientific theory should also guide research by offering testable hypotheses that can be rigorously tested. A good theory should generate testable predictions (hypotheses), and if research fails to support the hypotheses, then this suggests that the theory needs to be modified in some way A shared assumption about the subject matter of a discipline and the methods of study

Activity 2 Consolidation your understanding of each key feature of science via 5 key words Extension: complete the stretch yourself questions

Activity 3: Exam focus (A02) Mind map, all the possible content that could be included in your answer. A psychodynamic psychologist wished to investigate the function of dreams. He asked five friends to keep a ‘dream diary’ for a week by writing a descriptive account of their dreams as soon as they woke up in the morning. He interpreted the content of their dreams as an expression of their repressed wishes. Referring to the study above, explain why psychodynamic psychologists have often been criticised for neglecting the rules of the scientific approach. (Total 3 marks)

Activity 2: Exam focus – mark scheme How the psychodynamic approach as depicted in the stem neglects the rules of science. interpretation of content of dreams open to bias and subjectivity no verifiable evidence small sample; opportunity sample of friends and implications for generalizability qualitative data collected and implications for statistical analysis; retrospective data / memory distortions – reports written on waking dreams are private experience and covert problem of replicability. no reference to a testable hypothesis.

Design a study

Design a study  A teacher noticed that most of her students who were rated highly on
musical ability were left-handed. Design a study to test whether there is a difference in the musical ability of left-handed students and right-handed students. You have access to a sixth form of 200 students, from which you can select your sample. You should: •        identify the design that you would use •        explain an appropriate sampling method and justify your choice •        describe the procedure that you would use, including details of how you
would assess musical ability •        write a suitable debrief for these participants. (10)

DESIGN (1) The experimental design that will be used is an independent measures. 10 students who are left handed and 10 students who are right handed will be asked to take part and make up the two conditions. SAMPLING (2) A volunteer sample consisting of 10 students who are left handed and 10 students who are right handed will be asked to participate by replying to an advert that will be placed around the college. The first 10 students who are left and right handed to reply to the advert will make up the sample. A volunteer sample is appropriate because it involves minimal effort from the researcher to obtain the participants. However, it has to be noted that because left-handed people are less common in the population than right-handed people it could take longer to acquire left handed participants.

Award 1 mark for procedure, 1 mark for assessing musical ability and two further marks for elaboration of either or both of these. Procedure and assessment of musical ability – 4 marks Each participant will be given a standardised musical ability test. This will be assessed by asking participants to play a simple tune on the piano. All 20 participants will be asked to play the exact same tune after receiving the same instructions. Each student will be awarded 1 point for each note played correctly. All participants will be tested within a controlled environment, with minimal noise or distraction. Debrief – 3 marks Thank you for volunteering to take part in the research. The aim of the research was to test whether there is a difference in the musical ability of left-handed students and right-handed students. There were two conditions to the experiment. One condition contained 10 students who were left handed and the other condition contained 10 students who were right handed. All data will be kept anonymous and confidential. Once again thank you for participating. Do you have any questions?

Individually… A psychologist asks some of his students to conduct a separate observational
study at the same time on the same group of children. The aim of this observational study is to test the idea that eating a healthy breakfast affects playground behaviour. Design an observational study to investigate the effects of a healthy breakfast on playground behaviour. Include in your answer sufficient detail to allow for reasonable replication of the study. You should state the hypothesis you are setting out to test. In your answer, refer to: an appropriate method of investigation behavioural categories for the observation materials/apparatus procedure for the study Justify your design decisions. (12)

Design should be written clearly, succinctly and with sufficient detail for reasonable replicability.
Candidates will not receive credit for details included in the stimulus material. These include using a random sample of 100 children, gaining parental consent and selection of a Mann Whitney test.
To access marks in the top band candidates must state an appropriate hypothesis in which “playground behaviour” is clearly operationalised. The hypothesis could be directional or non-directional.
Given the wording of the question, a correlational hypothesis is not credit-worthy, however, the rest of the answer should be marked on its merits.
Likely aspects of “playground behaviour” would include activity levels, aggression, cooperative play etc.
An attempt to operationalise “a healthy breakfast” should be credited. However, candidates could assume this had already been done by the psychologist. As this is an observational study any of the following, together with appropriate justification, would be credit-worthy:
Is the observation covert or overt?
Where are observers positioned? (In playground, watching from window?)
Is a video recording of the children used? How will this be analysed (eg content analysis)?
Do the students who observe know what the children ate for breakfast?
At what times of day does the observation take place?
How many children are observed? (Candidates could justify using a smaller sub-sample of the 100 children in the original study).
How long does each observation last?
Will the observers use a behavioural check list / tally chart?
Will more than one observer observe each child? If so, what training will be given and what checks for inter-observer reliability will take place?
Reference to time sampling or event sampling. Credit any other relevant material.

Pilot studies

What is a pilot study? Pilot studies are small, trial versions of proposed studies to test their effectiveness and make improvements. They are helpful in identifying potential issues early, which can then be rectified before committing to the length and expense of a full investigation. Any part of the study could be tested, for instance the validity of measure (e.g. does the questionnaire measure what it is supposed to?) or whether a procedure is effective (e.g. does it take too long, are the instructions too complicated for participants to understand, or have any vital steps been left out). The pilot study is an important part of the experimental process and is good practice which is widely used.

Pilot studies in the exam… When writing about pilot studies in the exam, make sure that your answers are specific to the context or study presented. For example, if the question referred to an experiment investigating the effects of a strategy to improve memory, you could refer to the need to check the stimuli being used in the memory test and how long participants should be given to learn them.

Exam style question 1) Explain why a researcher would conduct a pilot study (2 marks) 2) One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two year old boy who experienced this disruption of attachment. She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned home. Each period of observation lasted for one hour. Explain why the psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the main observation. ( 2 marks)

Exam answers Explain why a researcher would conduct a pilot study (2 marks) The researcher would want to conduct a pilot study because they are useful to test the effectiveness and make improvements of the proposed study. They are helpful in identifying potential issues early, which can then be rectified before committing to the length and expense of a full investigation. 2. Explain why the psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the main observation. ( 2 marks) One reason for the psychologist carrying out a pilot study would be to check cameras were positioned appropriately. Another would be to check the suitability of the behavioural categories.