What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
-
Upload
simone-wong -
Category
Documents
-
view
218 -
download
0
Transcript of What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
1/12
What do I need to include under each section of my IA report
for IB Psychology?
Title page
The hypothesis will determine how the title is constructed. For example, if the
operationalized research hypothesis is The mean number of words correctlyrecalled by a group using a list with category headings will be greater than the
mean number of words correctly recalled by a group not using category headings,
then an appropriate title could be An experiment to investigate the effect of
category headings on the recall of a list of words. A title such as An experiment
on memory is not specific and is, therefore, insufficient.
The title page must include:
y titley the method used (experiment)y the topic under investigation (for example, recall)y the variables (for example, category headings and their impact on word
recall)
y student name and numbery subject and level (SL or HL)y
date, month and year of submissiony number of words.
Abstract
The abstract gives the reader a chance to find out the bare essentials of the
experiment without going any further. The style should be brief, but should not
use note form. The abstract should include the following.
y A one-sentence summary, giving the topic(s) to be studiedThis may include the aim or hypotheses and the area studied.
y A description of the participants and setting for the experimenty A description of the experiment conducted by the student, including the
design, independent and dependent variables, and a basic outline of the
procedure
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
2/12
y A statement of the findings related to the aim (SL) including a mention ofthe statistics used, the significance levels (HL), and one sentence summing
up the outcome (SL and HL)
y A short summary of the conclusionThe abstract should be no longer than 200 words. The word count for the abstract
should be included on the abstract page.
Introduction
The purpose of the introduction is to introduce the theoretical framework and the
background research and/or theories that should lead to the aim (SL) or
hypotheses (HL).
The introduction should follow the order below.
y A general introduction to the psychological subject area under investigationy A summary of the key theories and research studies
The introduction must include proper references, for example, (Zajonc
1965). Students at SL must cite one reference, and at least three are
recommended for HL.
y A rationale and justification for the studyy The aim (SL and HL) and hypotheses (HL only)
See below for further information about the aim and hypotheses.
The details of a piece of research should not be spelled out unless it is one the
student is replicating.
Aim
The aim of the study is a clear statement about what is being investigated and
what is expected.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
3/12
Hypotheses (HL)
Research hypothesisH1
The research hypothesis must be a clear, concise prediction of what is expected to
be demonstrated in the experiment. This must be operationalized: it must be
evident how the variables will be quantified, and may be either one- or two-tailed
(directional or non-directional).
NullhypothesisH0
The null hypothesis states that no significant difference is expected to be found
between the groups on the measure of the dependent variable, and that any
difference found is due to chance
Problem areas
y Background studies not relevant or only marginally relevant to thehypothesis.
y Studies described but not made relevant to the hypothesis.y Research hypothesis not operationalized and does not predict a difference
between two groups or conditions.
Method
This is typically divided into several sub-sections.
Design
A description of design decisions should be included, for example:
y experimental and control conditionsy the type of experimental design chosen by the student and justification for
their choice (independent groups, repeated measures, or matched pairs)
y identification of variables (independent and dependent variables),operationally defined
y ethical considerations and reference to documentation (informed consent,debriefing) in the appendices.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
4/12
Problem areas
y Variables are not identified properly and a mark of zero must be awarded.y No mention of ethical issues, therefore a zero must be awarded.y Informed consent not obtained - or 'consent' obtained rather than
'informed consent'.
y Justifying the use of the experimental method rather than justifying the useof a particular experimental design. The method does not need to be
justified as all students are required to do an experiment.
Participants
Details of the participants involved in the research should be included, for
example:
y the researchers involved in conducting the researchy the target population, described in terms such as age, sex, education, or
reference to any other relevant variables
y the sampling method and justification of why it was usedy the size of the sample (a participant sample of 20 is recommended), and
how the participants were selected and assigned to experimental
conditions.
Problem areas
y Misunderstanding of the term random and ensuring their selectionprocedure is truly random. If not random, then the use of an opportunity or
structured sampling procedure should be explained.
y Target population too broadly defined.Materials
A clear outline of materials or apparatus should be used. The exact details and
examples should be placed in the appendices.
Procedure
This sub-section should include a statement of where the research was
undertaken, the instructions given to participants, details of debriefing, and any
other relevant details that would be necessary for replication of the experiment.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
5/12
Further evidence should be included regarding design decisions, such as
counterbalancing, random allocation of participants to groups, single- or double-
blind, control of extraneous variables, standardized procedures and steps taken to
avoid any possible bias in sampling or in the experimental procedures.
Details of informed consent, briefing and debriefing of participants should also be
included.
Problem areas
y There is insufficient information to replicate the study.y Procedure does not mention ethical considerationsy The procedure is not in order
Results
The results should include the following.
y Statement of the measure(s) of central tendency, as appropriatey Statement of the measure(s) of dispersion, as appropriatey Justification of choice of descriptive statisticy Appropriate use of fully explained graphs and tables (may be computer
generated)
The student should give a narrative presentation of the results related to the aim
and hypotheses of the experiment.
All raw data should be included in an appendix. It should be presented in a
readable form with all headings clearly explained.
Personal details, such as the names of participants, should not be included. Such
information should be regarded as confidential.
All the actual answer sheets need not be included; one example in the report will
suffice. Students should keep the answer sheets.
Descriptive statistics (SL and HL)
Appropriate numerical statistics should be included, for example, measure(s) of
central tendency (mean, median, mode) and measure(s) of dispersion (range,
standard deviation).
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
6/12
Appropriate graphical statistics illustrating summary data should be provided, for
example, tables, bar charts, histograms and pie charts.
Special care should be taken to ensure that all graphs and tables have clear titles,
all graphical axes are clearly labelled, and all graphs are drawn on graph paper if
hand drawn.
Raw data should not be included in the results section, but can be placed in the
appendices.
Graphs detailing individual scores should not be included.
Problem areas
y Tests of central tendency may not be the most relevant - e.g., the median issometimes better to report than the mean
y Graphing of raw data instead of descriptive statisticsy Graph labellingy Results compare data that is irrelevant to the hypothesis - for example,
analyzing results by gender
y Graphing irrelevant thingsy Including all measures of central tendency instead of just the most
appropriate.
y Not justifying the chosen measurey Results not presented in graph and tabular form
Inferential statistics (HL)
Inferential statistics enable us to draw conclusions about the likelihood of the
hypotheses being retained. The following details should be included.
y A statement of the test(s) used and the level of measurement of the data(nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio)
y Justification of the choice of statistical test, with reference to the designand the nature of the actual data collected
y A statement of the observed and critical values of the test, degrees offreedom, significance level and whether the test was one- or two-tailed
y A statement of the conclusion in terms of the experimental hypothesisy A statement as to whether the experimental or null hypothesis was
accepted
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
7/12
Presentation of the experimental calculations should be provided in an appendix.
If a computer or calculator program have been used a printout should be
presented.
Choosing the right statistical test
Type of
design
Type of data/level of measurement
Nominal Ordinal Interval/ratio
(parametric)
Independent Chi-
squared
Mann
Whitney
U test
Unrelated t-
test
Repeated Sign test Wilcoxon Related t-test
Matched Sign test Wilcoxon Related t-test
In order to use a t-test, data must meet the requirements of a t-test.
y The level of measurement should be at least interval.y The data samples should have been drawn from a normally distributed
population.
The samples should have similar variances.
Which test to use?
There is debate among the teaching community about which inferential tests
should be used for the DPPsychology simple experiment. Psychologists try to use
the most appropriate and most powerful test they can to analyse their results.
The world of inferential statistics and probability reaches far beyond the scope of
the DPPsychology course.
The learning outcome from our course that gives us direction reads:
Apply an appropriately chosen statistical test (for example, Wilcoxon matched-
pairs signed-ranks test, Mann-Whitney U test, sign test, chi-squared test) in order
to determine the level of significance of data (HL only).
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
8/12
This only says an "appropriately chosen" test. The parenthetical examples are not
required. They are just examples of what is acceptable. Other tests would be
acceptable to use if they were 'appropriately chosen'. Each inferential statistical
test has a set of conditions of use, i.e., what the experiment has to be like in order
to use the test appropriately.
Experienced teachers and examiners recommend keeping the choice of statisticaltest limited to the most basic, appropriate ones. The four tests mentioned in the
guide are adequate for the vast majority of IB psychology simple experiments.
Design and sample size will also play a role.
In all cases, the assessment criteria focus on the selection and application of an
appropriate and justified test.
Problem areas
y No inferential analysis includedy The test used is far too complex for the IB psychology levely Misunderstanding of concept of significance and the relationship between
the null hypothesis and the research hypothesis
Discussion
There are four divisions.
1. Explanation of findings
The word explain means to give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Explanation may include reference to descriptive statistics. Students should have
stated the results of their experiment in statistical terms in the results section of
their report.
2. Relationship to background research
This is the students opportunity to explain their results in relation to their initial
aim and hypotheses, as well as to their background research.
No new research should be included here, but duplication of material from the
introduction should be avoided.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
9/12
3. Limitations, modifications and suggestions for further research
Even a well-designed study will have flaws. The design and procedure should be
considered and suitable modifications should be suggested. Limitations include,
but are not restricted to:
y experimental flaws and problems that may have affected the results, suchas lack of sampling controls and problems with the procedure
y materialsy design.Modifications need to be clearly stated and could include other ways of
investigating the aim.
Students should refer to any ideas they may have for further or follow-up
research.
4. Conclusion
Students should finish with a concluding statement of their findings (SL) and a
brief, focused summing-up of findings relating back to the aim and hypotheses
(HL).
Problem areas
y No discussion of descriptive statistics, especially differences in standarddeviation or range.
y Background studies or theories are simply restated and not discussed -remember the definitions of the command terms.
y Limitations are superficial and not necessarily the most relevant.References
This section should be a list of all the material the students have referred to. If the
student does not have the original source material, all the necessary details can
be found in the references section at the back of the book that referred to the
source.
All references stated in the introduction and discussion sections of the students
report should be included in the references section.
References should follow a recognized format and be consistent throughout.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
10/12
The recommended style for a textbook reference is:
Flanagan, C (1997) An introduction to Psychology. London, UK. Thomas & Co.
(That is, in the order: surname, initial (date) title. Place of publication. Publisher.)
References for textbooks written by multiple authors should be presented as
follows:
Crane, J & Hannibal, J (2009) IB Diploma Programme: Psychology Course
Companion. Oxford, UK. OUP.
(That is, in the order: surname, initial & surname, initial (date) title. Place of
publication. Publisher.)
Please note that page references should be included.
Websites must be fully referenced with "http://www. followed by the address so
they can be located.
Any statistical packages used must also be included in the references section.
Problem areas:
y Inconsistent formatting which could very easily be rectified with an eye fordetaily Not all citations from the body of the report are included in the references
section
y Secondary sources are not cited appropriately. They can be used but shouldbe cited as such.
Appendices
In this section, students must include blank copies of any supplementaryinformation, a list of the materials used, such as standardized instructions,
debriefing notes and a blank copy of an informed consent statement. This section
provides all the materials necessary to allow the experiment to be replicated.
Tables of raw data and calculations must be included. However, it is not necessary
to include all participant responses: one blank copy or a sample is sufficient.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
11/12
Materials should be clearly labelled and organized.
A checklist for each section can be found in the Appendices.
It is recommended that these checklists are distributed to students to track their
progress.
Participant informed consent
Informed consent is an integral and required part of the internal assessment
process. All students must ensure all participants who are 16 years or older sign
an informed consent statement. For experiments with participants under the age
of 16, parental consent must be obtained.
Students must include one blank copy of their informed consent statement as an
appendix. A sample consent form that could be modified by students can be
found in the "Appendices" section.
Frequently asked questions
What is a simple experiment?
A simple experiment is an experimental research method that has one
independent variable and one dependent variable. The independent variable is
the variable that is manipulated by the researcher. The dependent variable is the
variable that is measured by the researcher, and changes as a result ofmanipulation of the independent variable.
A simple experiment should also have two conditions. Condition 1 is the
experimental condition, where the independent variable is changed. Condition 2
is the control condition, where the independent variable remains unchanged.
Multiple variables and conditions should be avoided as this does not constitute a
simple experiment.
Other research methods, such as interviews, surveys, case studies, questionnaires,observations, correlations or quasi-experiments, should be avoided as these are
non-experimental.
Students will receive no marks if they produce non-experimental work.
-
8/3/2019 What Do I Need to Include Under Each Section of My IA Report for IB Psychology_2011_2012
12/12
Can students work as part of a group?
Yes. Group work may be undertaken by groups of up to four students. Each group
must collect its own data but each student must write up his or her own
individual report.
Can students use software packages for calculating statistics?
Yes. These are permitted provided students interpret the results obtained and
check the significance of the data. A printout of the calculated data should be
included in the appendices of the students report.
How can I ensure that my students work is ethical?
Make sure your students follow the guidance given in the Ethical guidelines
section. Teachers can use the proposal form provided (see the Forms section) to
check and approve student research proposals before students start to collect anydata. Teachers are also encouraged to arrange a review board to check that all
students work is ethical before they start collecting data.
Can a t-test be used?
Yes. A t-test can be used if the students data meets the requirements of the test
outlined in the Report section.