AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 2:
RESEARCH METHODS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025/2026 UPDATE
Methods are what psychologists use to conduct their research. There
are two areas of methods, what are these? - ANSWER ->Experimental
Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
Outline what experimental methods consist of - ANSWER ->Lab,
natural, field and quasi experiments
Outline what non-experimental methods consist of - ANSWER -
>Correlational analysis, observations, case studies and self report
(interviews and questionnaires)
Outline a lab experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Conducted within
a lab which has high control over the environment.
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous
variables are likely to be controlled and thus a cause and effect
relationship can be established between IV and DV :) - High
reliability of results due to the tight control over variables meaning
that it can be repeated and findings can be checked for consistency
:( - It lacks ecological validity as it takes place in a very fake setting,
with possibly a fake task, therefore making it hard to generalise the
results to other environments or settings :( - It can encourage demand
characteristics as participants know they are being watched/recorded
,and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim
is, to suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy
of the results
Outline a field experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Takes place in
a real environment such as a school, and there is then an IV that is
manipulated to effect the DV. :) - Less prone to demand
characteristics as people may not know they are taking part is an
experiment and thus will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life meaning the findings
can then be generalised to other settings beyond the study
:( - It lacks reliability in the findings as it is done in a setting where there
is little control over confounding variables meaning it is difficult to
replicate it and get consistency in results :( - Ethical issues can arise
when conducting a field experiment as people are not aware they are
taking part and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving
to be able to study them, therefore there is risk that the participants
will not want their results used and thus must be removed
Outline a natural experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->In a real
setting with a naturally occurring IV, for example looking at the effect of
stress after an earthquake hits a city. :) - Participants show no demand
characteristics at all as at the time of the IV occurring they did not know
about the study as this will show natural behaviour
:) - Very high ecological validity as it is set in a real environment and
nothing is controlled, so therefore you are able to generalise the
findings beyond the setting of the study
:( - It lacks reliability as there is zero control over variables meaning that
it is difficult to replicate the experiment and get consistent results
,:( - Due to the lack of control over extraneous variables it is very
difficult to establish a cause and effect relationship and thus this
reduces the internal validity
Outline a quasi experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Quasi
experiments have an IV that is based on an existing difference between
people such as age, no one has manipulated this variable and it exists
on its own, for example comparing achievement level of first-born
children with that of later-born children.
:) - They are often carried out in controlled conditions and therefore
they share similar strengths to that of a lab experiment
:( - Like natural experiments participants cant be randomly allocated to
experimental conditions so there may be confounding variables such as
individual differences
Outline the 7 types of observations and for each evaluate them -
CORRECT
ANSWER>>Controlled observation - this is where the conditions are
manipulated by the researcher and may be carried out in a laboratory
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous
variables are likely to be controlled and thus a cause and effect
relationship can be established between IV and DV :( - It can
encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on
clues on what the aim is, to suit what the researcher wants to see, this
affects the accuracy of the results
Naturalistic observation - Simply watching a natural behaviour in a
natural environment, no intervention occurs at all
, :) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are
being watched and thus wont change their behaviour
:( - They are almost impossible to replicate and this makes it lack
reliability as ow level of control over extraneous variables therefore it is
hard to check for consistency
Covert observation - This is where the participants are not aware they
are being observed (one way mirror/CCTV)
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are
being watched and thus wont change their behaviour
:( - Ethical issues can arise as people are not aware they are taking part
and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving to be able to
study them, therefore there is risk that the participants will not want
their results used and thus must be removed
Overt observation - Participants are aware they are being observed
:) - This avoids ethical issues arising
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they
are being watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour
based on clues on what the aim is, to suit what the researcher wants to
see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Participan
Outline what an interview is and what types of interviews there are and
evaluate each - ANSWER ->An interview is a method for asking people
questions in a face to face nature which sometimes may be over the
phone/computer and is good for collecting qualitative information
RESEARCH METHODS EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025/2026 UPDATE
Methods are what psychologists use to conduct their research. There
are two areas of methods, what are these? - ANSWER ->Experimental
Methods and Non-Experimental Methods
Outline what experimental methods consist of - ANSWER ->Lab,
natural, field and quasi experiments
Outline what non-experimental methods consist of - ANSWER -
>Correlational analysis, observations, case studies and self report
(interviews and questionnaires)
Outline a lab experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Conducted within
a lab which has high control over the environment.
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous
variables are likely to be controlled and thus a cause and effect
relationship can be established between IV and DV :) - High
reliability of results due to the tight control over variables meaning
that it can be repeated and findings can be checked for consistency
:( - It lacks ecological validity as it takes place in a very fake setting,
with possibly a fake task, therefore making it hard to generalise the
results to other environments or settings :( - It can encourage demand
characteristics as participants know they are being watched/recorded
,and thus they change their behaviour based on clues on what the aim
is, to suit what the researcher wants to see, this affects the accuracy
of the results
Outline a field experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Takes place in
a real environment such as a school, and there is then an IV that is
manipulated to effect the DV. :) - Less prone to demand
characteristics as people may not know they are taking part is an
experiment and thus will display natural behaviour
:) - High ecological validity as the setting is real life meaning the findings
can then be generalised to other settings beyond the study
:( - It lacks reliability in the findings as it is done in a setting where there
is little control over confounding variables meaning it is difficult to
replicate it and get consistency in results :( - Ethical issues can arise
when conducting a field experiment as people are not aware they are
taking part and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving
to be able to study them, therefore there is risk that the participants
will not want their results used and thus must be removed
Outline a natural experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->In a real
setting with a naturally occurring IV, for example looking at the effect of
stress after an earthquake hits a city. :) - Participants show no demand
characteristics at all as at the time of the IV occurring they did not know
about the study as this will show natural behaviour
:) - Very high ecological validity as it is set in a real environment and
nothing is controlled, so therefore you are able to generalise the
findings beyond the setting of the study
:( - It lacks reliability as there is zero control over variables meaning that
it is difficult to replicate the experiment and get consistent results
,:( - Due to the lack of control over extraneous variables it is very
difficult to establish a cause and effect relationship and thus this
reduces the internal validity
Outline a quasi experiment and evaluate it - ANSWER ->Quasi
experiments have an IV that is based on an existing difference between
people such as age, no one has manipulated this variable and it exists
on its own, for example comparing achievement level of first-born
children with that of later-born children.
:) - They are often carried out in controlled conditions and therefore
they share similar strengths to that of a lab experiment
:( - Like natural experiments participants cant be randomly allocated to
experimental conditions so there may be confounding variables such as
individual differences
Outline the 7 types of observations and for each evaluate them -
CORRECT
ANSWER>>Controlled observation - this is where the conditions are
manipulated by the researcher and may be carried out in a laboratory
:) - High level of control over variables meaning that extraneous
variables are likely to be controlled and thus a cause and effect
relationship can be established between IV and DV :( - It can
encourage demand characteristics as participants know they are being
watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour based on
clues on what the aim is, to suit what the researcher wants to see, this
affects the accuracy of the results
Naturalistic observation - Simply watching a natural behaviour in a
natural environment, no intervention occurs at all
, :) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are
being watched and thus wont change their behaviour
:( - They are almost impossible to replicate and this makes it lack
reliability as ow level of control over extraneous variables therefore it is
hard to check for consistency
Covert observation - This is where the participants are not aware they
are being observed (one way mirror/CCTV)
:) - No room for demand characteristics as people do not know they are
being watched and thus wont change their behaviour
:( - Ethical issues can arise as people are not aware they are taking part
and thus there is no informed consent that they are giving to be able to
study them, therefore there is risk that the participants will not want
their results used and thus must be removed
Overt observation - Participants are aware they are being observed
:) - This avoids ethical issues arising
:( - It can encourage demand characteristics as participants know they
are being watched/recorded and thus they change their behaviour
based on clues on what the aim is, to suit what the researcher wants to
see, this affects the accuracy of the results
Participan
Outline what an interview is and what types of interviews there are and
evaluate each - ANSWER ->An interview is a method for asking people
questions in a face to face nature which sometimes may be over the
phone/computer and is good for collecting qualitative information
