1. Internal Assessment (IA)
Graduating class of 2019 & Beyond
Internal Assessment (IA)

2. I: Introduction
Purpose: To provide background information & rationale for the investigation.
This section should first introduce the AREA of research (level of analysis: cognitive, biological, or socio-cultural) followed by the more SPECIFIC STUDIES that are directly related to the experiment (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979)

3. Advice for Writing your Introduction
Give a general introduction of the psychological subject area you are investigating.
Include a brief summary of the theory and KEY pieces of research associated with the topic in which you are investigating.
DO NOT include more than 3 pieces of relevant research (more is not always better).
This is NOT the same as sources!
Research must be focused on your TOPIC and must logically lead to the investigation.

4. Relevant Research and Theory MUST Be Included
Ideas
Explanation about a specific topic
Must be able to be tested, proved/disproved
Broad range of concepts on a given topic
Example: Big Bang Theory
Evidence
Used to prove or disprove the theory
Gather facts on a subject/topic
Deals with some type of argument/debate

5. End of Introduction
Statement of specific research hypothesis which is clearly justified by research
Aim is stated
Due to suggestions by Loftus and Palmer’s study, the aim of this experiment is to determine…
Our experiment will be carried out by…
Be sure to write it in operationalized form and is precisely testable
Null hypothesis should state that results found were due to chance not manipulation of the IV

6. Pre-Experiment “Materials” Important Documents Please include blank copies in your appendices
Consent Form(s)
Parental consent for if under 16 years old
Briefing notes
Debriefing notes
Standardized Instructions

7. The following slide is an EXAMPLE Please DO NOT COPY and paste the information and just switch out your appropriate details!

8. Dear Participant,
As part of my IB psychology Internal Assessment, I am conducting a study on _____________ (example: memory). This study is going to test your ability to memorize a list of words while listening to music. After the briefing, I would ask you to sign the statement below:
I have been informed of the nature of the experiment.
I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time, and any information /data collected will remain confidential.
My anonymity will be protected because my name will not be identifiable.
The experiment will be conducted so that I will not be demeaned in any way.
I will be debriefed at the end and have the opportunity to find out the results.
I give my informed consent to participating in this experiment.
Name___________________ Date____________

9. Standardized Briefing Notes
Reasoning: To ensure that you control any extraneous variables that may interfere with the experiment.
Written script of what you said to your participants before conducting the experiment
Include in appendices
Must include:
Aim and instructions regarding the procedure of the study
Information about the ethical issues

10. Standardized Debriefing Notes
Written script that is used to debrief participants after conducting the experiment
Include copy in appendices
Be sure to include:
What you expected to find in your study
Participants have the right to learn about the conclusions drawn from the research once analysis of data is finalized
Remind them that they may withdraw their data

11. II: Exploration Design is explained Sampling technique is explained
Choice of participants are explained
Procedure is explained
Controlled variables are explained
Outline steps of the experiment
Choice of materials are explained

12. Design Correctly identify the type of design
Explain why this design is best practice for your chosen experiment
For independent design, the allocation of participants into each group MUST BE done randomly
Counterbalancing: the participant sample is divided in half, with one half completing the two conditions in one order and the other half completing the conditions in the reverse order (repeated measures design)

13. Design You need to choose between two basic designs; depending on what you are investigating, one design might make more sense than the other
Independent Samples Design
Repeated Measures Design
Two different groups of participants: Control group & experimental group
Used when it is not possible to use the same participants in the two experimental conditions
N=20 (10 participants for each group; even numbers in each group)
SAME participants in both the treatment and the control group.
Ex. Group is first asked to memorize and recall a list of words without music (control)
Then they are asked to memorize and recall a list of words while listening to music (treatment)
Order effect : using same participants and they learn what the first trial was therefore affecting the second trial
N=20 (same 20 participants)

14. Strengths Repeated Measures Design Independent Samples Design
Participants are less likely to guess the hypothesis
Less boredom and tired
Won’t improve skill due to repetition (example of order effect)
Same materials may be used for both groups (example: same list of words)
Eliminates participant variability (differences between the two groups are due to natural situations as opposed to manipulation of the IV)
Requires fewer participants

15. Limitations Independent Samples Design Repeated Measures Design
May be participant variability
Coincidentally, one group is better than the other group
Doing the same task twice may cause order effects
Demand characteristics (discover the aim and don’t act naturally in order to “help” or “hinder” your research) may occur
Isn’t best practice for experiments with “performance tasks”

16. Sampling Technique & participants (How & Who)
Example technique process is explained and rationale is explained
Identify essential characteristics of participants
Age (range)
Gender distribution
Education
Any other relevant characteristics related to the aim
Example: language proficiency, free of being color-blind, etc.

17. Explaining controlled variables
Only control the variables that will potentially be confounding for your experiment
Come up with a list of factors and explain how these factors might interfere with your results
Talk about the MOST important confounding variables
What are you going to do?
Nothing and acknowledge they might influence your results
Use random allocation into groups and expect that these factors will influence all experimental conditions equally, therefore it will not effect the comparison
Eliminate the confounding variables (explain how you did this)

18. Procedure (step-by-step)
Replicability
Reference materials (consent for, briefing/debriefing notes, standardized instructions…these are also materials)
Reference these documents in your appendices

19. Explanation of materials
Why did you choose to use specific materials
Video, photos, text/story etc.
Don’t need to explain writing utensils and desk…
Should be support your aim and hypothesis

20. III. Conducting the Analysis
Descriptive Statistics (include graphs & narative)
Levels of measurement
Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio-level
Normality of distribution of the dependent variable
Measure of central tendency
Mean, median, mode
Measure of dispersion
Standard deviation, semi-interquartile range
Inferential Statistics (no graphs, just narrative)
Justify the type of test based off of:
Design
Level of measurement (parametric or non-parametric)
Assumptions regarding normality of distribution of the DV
Statistical significance (reject or accept null hypothesis)

21. Analysis: Descriptive & Inferential
Must be in NARRITIVE form (written) & in GRAPHIC form
Each section should be able to stand alone and the reader should be able to understand the results regardless of which form they are reading
Should reflect the aim of the research hypothesis
Different levels of details should be represented (levels/scales of measurement)
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio

22. Levels of Measurement

23. Nominal Simplest form of data
Count how many fall into each category such as:
Males vs. females
Provide the least amount of information
Only the mode can be used as a measure of central tendency

24. Ordinal Used to rank (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc) Example: Likert scale:
1.) Strongly agree
2.) Agree
3.) Disagree
4.) Strongly disagree

25. Interval Measured on a scale which has exact and equal intervals
Example: Temperature
67 degrees, you know accurately what the weather is like
Carries more information than ordinal data
Mean, median, & mode can be calculated
When you rank interval data it becomes ordinal data
John is 179 cm tall and Max is 180 cm, so Max is the tallest, John is the shortest

26. Ratio
Has all the characteristics of interval data and also has a TRUE zero point
Weight, length, volume can have a zero point but not a negative measurement

27. Descriptive Statistics
Calculate both Central Tendency & Dispersion if the level of measurement allows it
“Due to the nature of data collected a measure of dispersion was not applicable…”
Raw data (Exact results/answers from participants) SHOULD not be included in the written section, but must be referenced in the appendix
Only summarized data should be included in the results

28. Measures of Central Tendency
Mean (average)
Sum of data divided by amount of data
Most influenced by outliers (extreme scores)
Very precise; not useful if there are many modes
Median (middle)
Put in order, find middle number (may need to take average of 2 numbers if even amount)
Not distorted by outliers
Can be distorted by small samples
Mode (most)
Which ever number is repeated the most
Most sensitive measure of central tendency
Can be distorted by outliers (if they are the mode)

29. Measures of Dispersion
Range
Highest score minus lowest score
Easy to calculate
Distorted by outliers
Standard Deviation
The square root of the variance (difference between each value and the mean, squaring the difference between each value and the mean (eliminates negatives), summing the squared differences and then taking the average of the sum of squared differences)
Most sensitive measure of dispersion using all data

30. Calculating Standard Deviation

31. Graphs Level of measurement of data Possible descriptive stat
Possible tables/graphs
Nominal
Percentages
Mode
Frequency table
Pie graph
Bar graph
Ordinal
Median
Frequency polygon
Interval and Ratio
Mean, median, mode
Quartiles
Range, standard deviation
Box and whisker plot
histogram

32. Frequency Table

33. Pie Graph

34. Bar Graph

35. Frequency Polygon/Histogram

36. Box Plot

37. Whisker Plot

38. Graphs
Use a computer
Data must be accurate and RELEVANT to the prediction of the research hypothesis
One graph per statistic is sufficient
DO NOT include graphs showing each individual participant’s score
EACH PERSON MUST CREATE HIS/HER OWN GRAPH…DO NOT MAKE MULTIPLE COPIES!

39. IV: Evaluation
Results are discussed in reference to the theory/model and original experiment
Do you findings support the background theory, why or why not?
What modifications did you make and how could this impacted your results?
Strengths and limitations of design are addressed as well as sample & procedure
How can construct, internal, and external validity be applied?
How were the construct operationalized?
What variables were controlled?
How/why was the sample selected and target population?
How have various forms of bias impeded your research/findings?
This should be viewed as a reflection piece…now that the experiment is done, was your design, sample and procedure the best given the type of experiment you conducted?
What modifications should be made for the future in relation to your above limitation?
hypothetically speaking, if you were to do this again, what would you do differently in relation to your experiment/procedure?

40. V: References & Appendices
Anything cited should also appear in your list of references and anything in your list is references should also be cited
Follow proper citation format and it must be consistent throughout your report
Standardized instructions
Briefing and debriefing notes
Copy (not signed) of consent form (and parental if applicable)
Stimulus materials used to record data (questionnaire, essays, photos, etc.)
Raw data table
Calculations of descriptive and inferential statistics (include printout of the data entry as well as the options chosen and values used
Any other materials you used for experiment (filler task, music or video links, etc.)