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IB Psychology Paper 3 Practice

10/4/2016

 
Targeting your HL Paper 3 examination for IB Psychology Qualitative Research Methods

First you have to know, understand and have memorised the IB Psychology QRM content, next you have to practice applying that knowledge to the associated stimulus material. 

All IB Psychology Research Methods examinations follow the following structure. Approximately one page of stimulus material which outlines a piece of qualitative Psychological ​research (i.e., a study) followed by three 10 mark questions asking you to relate IB Psychology QRM learning outcomes to that piece of stimulus material.

IB Psychology has prepared an example Paper 3 examination question here for you to both familiarise yourself with and get in some valuable practice (IB Psychology exams are close now!).


IB PSychology Paper 3 exam stimulus material:

Results of a Focus Group with Ecstasy-Using College Students
KIRA B. LEVY, KEVIN E. O'GRADY, ERIC D. WISH, and AMELIA M. ARRIA Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA. 
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Just a little too happy?

This study examined ecstasy use in 30 college students who participated in one of four 60- minute focus groups with other participants who also had a history of ecstasy use.
 
To obtain a sample, fliers were posted on a large 35,000-student campus, inviting individuals who had used ecstasy on at least one occasion to anonymously contact the researcher via telephone or e-mail using a fictitious first name if they were interested in participating in a focus group about ecstasy. Four focus groups of six to 10 individuals were held in a private room on campus (one male-only, one female-only, and two mixed-gender).
 
Upon entering the room for the focus group, each participant was instructed to write the fictitious first name they had used during the telephone screening on a name-tag. Participants were instructed to only use their fictitious first name during the session to protect their identity.
 
After completion of a brief survey, the guidelines for the hour-long group discussion were reviewed. Participants were told that they could speak about their personal experiences or what they knew about other substance users, without disclosing anyone's identity. Participants then engaged in a group discussion led by a facilitator. The facilitator moderated the discussion by asking specific questions and permitting group members to respond to the facilitator and to each other. The amount of time allotted to each topic varied based on group feedback and the judgment of the facilitator. The facilitator introduced each of six main topics, but discussion was not limited to these topics. Responses were written down by the facilitator and a trained research assistant.
 
Most participants had a basic understanding of the contents of ecstasy pills, and the effects that ecstasy has on the brain and bodily functions. Participants reported positive effects on mood, social pressure, curiosity, availability, boredom, desire for an altered state of mind, desire to escape, self-medication, desire to have fun, and the ease of use of ecstasy in comparison to other drugs as reasons for initiating ecstasy use. Participants described their experiences of both the positive and negative effects (physical and psychological) that they attributed to their use of ecstasy. The majority was unaware of specific types of problems ecstasy could potentially cause and discounted its potential harm.
​
At the conclusion of the group discussion, the moderator provided participants with a list of mental health resources and an informational hand-out about ecstasy containing a list of websites pertaining to substance use. 

Answer all of the following three questions, referring to the stimulus material in your answers:

1. Evaluate the use of a focus group for this study.                                                       [10 marks]

2. Discuss the sampling technique used for this study.                                                 [10 marks]

3. To what extent could findings from this study be generalised?                                 [10 marks] 

If you are aiming for full marks (and aren't you all?!) or even just the highest level mark band, it is of vital importance that you relate each of your answers to the stimulus material (i.e., the study the questions are based on).
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Mark band descriptors for HL Paper 3 IB Psychology exam answers
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A good IB Psychology QRM study guide

​Author: Derek Burton - Passionate about IB Psychology

Bomb proof IB Psychology classroom experiments

1/10/2015

 
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Classroom experiments so easy and fool-proof, they're child's play!
We all know that classroom Psychology experiments are win-win for everyone, as long as they work (i.e., produce the desired results). Students love being involved in demonstrations of their minds in action. Teachers love the way that experiments produce deep learning that is necessary to achieve the IB Psychology 7 come examinations. This IB Psychology classroom experiment is a very effective way to teach a concept that isn't necessarily the most intuitive to grasp - Craik and Lockhart's (1972) Levels of Processing model of memory. Best of all, it always works - money back guarantee! Use this classroom experiment to teach the Cognitive Level; of Analysis (CLOA) IB Psychology learning outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process [memory]. 

Craik and Lockhart's (1972) Level of Processing


​There is nothing to this core IB Psychology CLOA experiment really.. Do the experiment in the first half of your IB Psychology class and before you introduce the learning outcome. Download the instruction sheet below and make enough copies for your class - half the class will receive the first student instruction sheet and the other half, the second student instruction sheet.

​You read the script and have students record their answers. Next, you read the questions and have students answer on a separate piece of paper. Finally, you read the answers and have students mark their neighbour's responses. Record the results in a spreadsheet and use the data projector to display the results. Allow 30 minutes, including discussion time of the results.

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Author: Derek Burton – Passionate about IB Psychology

A Perfect 10

31/10/2014

 
Maximum marks in the diabolical IB Psychology HL Qualitative Research Methods
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THe Perfect response

Higher level Paper 3: Qualitative Research Methodology is often not taught well, often not well understood, and often not revised as well as it should be. The IB Psychology HL Paper 3: Qualitative Research Methodology is worth a huge 20% of your final grade. You cannot underestimate the importance of this section of the IB Psychology course. If you do badly in your Paper 3 examination you will lose at least one mark. 

Research Methods has been pinpointed as being the single most difficult part of the IB Psychology course to teach, learn and study for. The Ultimate Guide to Qualitative Research Methodology presents key notes for each of the 18 different learning objectives, summarised with useful exam tips and tricks to memorise the information. What makes this the best Paper 3 learning resource is that it provides the students with over 20 pages of targeted questions, covering basic knowledge, practice exam questions using stimulus material, and actual IB Paper 3 examination questions.
It is certainly not easy to achieve maximum marks in the IB Psychology HL Paper 3 examination. Many teachers leave it to teach last, rush through it and wonder why their students never attain that IB Psychology 7 in the end.

Here is the type of response the IB Psychology examiner will award maximum marks for. It should give you a really good indication of how to write a succinct response to an IB Psychology exam question and still be awarded maximum marks. Here is a model response to a Paper 3 exam question:
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Describe the use of inductive content analysis (thematic analysis) in this study.      [10 marks]

Inductive content analysis is a measure of analysing data in a qualitative study. It involves the grounded theory – transferring a low order theme to a high order theme and IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis).


The data collection is the first step which is done by semi-structured interview in this stimulus material. The data from the interview was “recorded” in the stimulus material which is then transcribed either by verbatim or postmodern transcription. 


Recorder themes are identified by transcription and then a step-by-step analysis is done to classify different sub-themes. 


The reading and re-reading of the data transcription several emergent themes are extracted which are then classified into different themes. These different sub-themes are analysed critically and further categorised into higher order themes. This categorisation process is evident in the stimulus material – “the content analysis showed that participant’s motivation could be categorised into four major or higher-order themes”. 


The stimulus material provides a detailed description of the four higher-order themes such as excitement and entertainment, emotional coping, and escaping from reality and interpersonal and social needs. 


These higher-order themes are then produced as a summary table after no more themes can be identified. 


This summary 
table is the produced account which is used for deriving the conclusion. As in the stimulus material “the researchers concluded that online gaming had the potential to be addictive.” 
Each step of the inductive content analysis requires credibility checks. For example, credibility checks by other researchers, coding, and reflexivity. These credibility checks appear on the margins and finally produce an account of the participants view rather than the researchers, thereby making the study trustworthy. Though the stimulus material did not present any kind of credibility checks employed by the researches, there is evidence of four higher-order themes makes the conclusions reliable as the study measures what it is expected to (psychological motivation to participate in online games).

IB Psychology has a specially prepared revision guide to help you achieve maximum marks here.
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Simply the best IB Psychology Paper 3 revision guide
Do  not just hope for the best in your final paper - the IB Psychology Paper 3 examination. Take it seriously and prepare yourself.  Try our revision guide, it is the only IB Psychology guide specifically targeted at the Paper 3 Exam.
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IB Psychology Qualitative Research Methods - No Problem!
Author: Derek Burton – Passionate about IB Psychology

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