WJEC A Level Psychology
WJEC A Level Psychology Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios Exam Questions
Free WJEC A Level Psychology revision for Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios: what you need to know, common mistakes and exam-style questions with answers. Covers brain scans, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, assessing reliability and validity, distributions, inferential tests and significance.
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A-Level Psychology Flashcards for 2027 Onwards
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About WJEC A Level Psychology Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios
Section B of Unit 4 builds on the Unit 2 research methods and adds new content, then tests it through compulsory questions on pieces of research you have not seen before. The additions are brain scans, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, ways of assessing reliability (inter-rater, test-retest, split-half) and validity (concurrent, predictive, face, content and construct), normal and skewed distribution curves, and five inferential tests with probability and significance. Examiners expect you to apply terms precisely to the scenario: choose and justify a test, interpret a result against a critical value, and suggest specific improvements to the design.
What you need to know
- New methodologies Brain scans such as PET and fMRI show brain activity. Longitudinal studies follow the same participants over time; cross-sectional studies compare different groups, such as age groups, at one time.
- Assessing reliability Inter-rater: correlate two observers' scores. Test-retest: give the same test to the same people on two occasions. Split-half: compare scores on two halves of a test.
- Assessing validity Face, content, concurrent (agreement with an existing measure), predictive (predicting future behaviour) and construct (measuring the underlying concept) validity.
- Distribution curves Normal distributions are symmetrical with mean, median and mode equal. Positive skew has a tail to the right (mean highest); negative skew has a tail to the left (mean lowest).
- Choosing a test Chi-squared: difference or association, independent, nominal. Mann Whitney U: difference, independent, ordinal or above. Sign test: difference, related, nominal. Wilcoxon: difference, related, ordinal or above. Spearman's rho: correlation, ordinal or above.
- Significance The usual level is p ≤ 0.05. For Chi-squared and Spearman's rho the observed value must be equal to or greater than the critical value to be significant; for Mann Whitney U, Wilcoxon and the sign test it must be equal to or less than it.
Common mistakes in Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios
- Justifying a test with one reason. Always cover difference or correlation, design and level of data.
- Using the same comparison rule for all tests. Mann Whitney U, Wilcoxon and the sign test are significant when the observed value is equal to or below the critical value.
- Confusing longitudinal and cross-sectional designs. Longitudinal follows the same people over time; cross-sectional compares different people at one point.
- Answering without reference to the scenario. Use details from the unseen study in every answer.
- Calculating N in a sign test without removing ties. Participants who show no change are excluded.
Try three Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios exam-style questions
1. A study compares memory scores of 30 children and 30 adults tested once. Identify whether this is longitudinal or cross-sectional and give one weakness. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Cross-sectional; different groups are compared at one point in time; weakness: differences may be due to cohort effects, such as different schooling, rather than age.
2. In a related design, 12 participants were tested: 8 improved, 2 got worse and 2 showed no change. Calculate N and S for a sign test. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
N = 12 - 2 = 10 (ties removed); S = the less frequent sign = 2.
3. A researcher tests whether there is an association between gender and choice of A level subject (science or arts). Which test should be used? Justify your answer. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Chi-squared; because it tests for an association (difference) between independent groups; and the data are nominal (frequency counts in categories).
Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios FAQs
What does WJEC A Level Psychology Unit 4 Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios cover?
Applying all the research methods content to unseen studies, including brain scans, longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, assessing reliability and validity, distributions and inferential testing.
Which paper is this examined in?
It is examined in Section B of Unit 4, Psychology: Applied Research Methods, a 1 hour 30 minute A2 paper worth 20% of the A level.
How do I prepare for unseen research questions?
Practise on past paper scenarios, learn the test-choice grid and comparison rules, and always quote details from the scenario when identifying methods, issues and improvements.
