PSYA4
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
METHODS QUESTIONS
, All questions from June 2010 to
JANUARY 2012
January 201
Two psychologists investigated the relationship between age and recall of medical
advice. Previous research had shown that recall of medical advice tended to be poorer
in older patients. The study was conducted at a doctor’s surgery and involved a sample
of 30 patients aged between 18 and 78 years. They all saw the same doctor, who
made notes of the advice that she gave during the consultation.
One of the psychologists interviewed each of the patients individually, immediately
after they had seen the doctor. The psychologist asked each patient a set of
questions about what the doctor had said about their diagnosis and treatment. The
patients’ responses were recorded and then typed out. Working independently the
psychologists compared each typed account with the doctor’s written notes in order
to rate the accuracy of the accounts on a scale of 1 – 10. A high rating indicated that
the patient’s recall was very accurate and a low rating indicated that the patient’s
recall was very inaccurate.
1 6 The psychologists decided to propose a directional hypothesis. Why was a
directional hypothesis appropriate in this case? (1 mark)
1 7 Write a suitable directional hypothesis for this investigation. (3 marks)
1 8 The psychologists were careful to consider the issue of reliability during the
study. What is meant by reliability? (1 mark)
1 9 Explain how the psychologists might have assessed the reliability of their
ratings. (3 marks)
2 0 This study collected both qualitative and quantitative data. From the description
of the study above, identify the qualitative data and the quantitative data. (2 marks)
The psychologists used Spearman’s rho to analyse the data from their investigation.
They chose to use the 0.05 level of significance. The result gave a correlation
coefficient of − 0.52.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
METHODS QUESTIONS
, All questions from June 2010 to
JANUARY 2012
January 201
Two psychologists investigated the relationship between age and recall of medical
advice. Previous research had shown that recall of medical advice tended to be poorer
in older patients. The study was conducted at a doctor’s surgery and involved a sample
of 30 patients aged between 18 and 78 years. They all saw the same doctor, who
made notes of the advice that she gave during the consultation.
One of the psychologists interviewed each of the patients individually, immediately
after they had seen the doctor. The psychologist asked each patient a set of
questions about what the doctor had said about their diagnosis and treatment. The
patients’ responses were recorded and then typed out. Working independently the
psychologists compared each typed account with the doctor’s written notes in order
to rate the accuracy of the accounts on a scale of 1 – 10. A high rating indicated that
the patient’s recall was very accurate and a low rating indicated that the patient’s
recall was very inaccurate.
1 6 The psychologists decided to propose a directional hypothesis. Why was a
directional hypothesis appropriate in this case? (1 mark)
1 7 Write a suitable directional hypothesis for this investigation. (3 marks)
1 8 The psychologists were careful to consider the issue of reliability during the
study. What is meant by reliability? (1 mark)
1 9 Explain how the psychologists might have assessed the reliability of their
ratings. (3 marks)
2 0 This study collected both qualitative and quantitative data. From the description
of the study above, identify the qualitative data and the quantitative data. (2 marks)
The psychologists used Spearman’s rho to analyse the data from their investigation.
They chose to use the 0.05 level of significance. The result gave a correlation
coefficient of − 0.52.
