IB Psychology

1. IB Psychology Internal Assessment

2. The Task • Replicate an experiment that manipulates an Independent Variable • Write a report conforming to IB guidelines

3. Step 1: Choosing an experiment to replicate Guidelines: • Ensure that the study has an IV that you can manipulate (not gender/age/culture) • Your research question should be important. If you can not find at least a few sentences in a standard psychology text about the research you plan to replicate, think again. • You must clearly justify your hypothesis.

4. Step 1: Choosing an experiment to replicate Guidelines: • You can not deceive, harm, or ask your participants to eat or drink any substances • You are not expected to conduct a ‘perfect’ experiment

5. Step 2: Locating Sources • Locate a copy of the original experiment • Find at least 3 other studies • Analyze all of these studies by breaking them down into research design elements, theory and conclusions • Avoid too many internet sources

6. Step 3 Modifying the Research Design • You will have to modify the original experiment • Sampling • Reduce the number of variables • Simplify the DV • Use a different statistical test to determine significance

7. Step 3 Modifying the Research Design cont’ • Independent measures design Versus repeated measures design . (Be able to justify this in your report) • Independent measures is usually best as you do not have to undertake counterbalancing to avoid the test-retest confounding variable

8. Step 4 Obtaining your sample of participants • The SAS student body will be your target population (experiment fatigue) • Randomly sample • You can select an opportunity sample but you will have to justify why you did this • An ideal sample is 50 students giving you two groups of 25. If you have some no-shows you will still have 20 per group

9. Step 4 Obtaining your sample of participants • Signed informed consent forms must be obtained (You will provide a copy of the consent form in your appendix) • Students younger than 16 will require parental consent • You must keep all forms and ensure the confidentially of data • You must collect relevant bio-data from the participants e.g. age, first language etc. You will report any relevant characteristics • You must randomly assign participants

10. Step 5 Ensuring Control • The two groups in your experiment should be treated exactly the same except for the IV • All instructions to the groups should be scripted to ensure they are identical • All other conditions should be identical as far as possible • Note any inadvertent differences in treatment and discuss in your report

11. Step 6 Ethical Considerations • Remind participants that they are free to leave the experiment at any time • Debriefing: All participants must be informed of the results of your experiment

12. Step 7 Analyzing the Data • Use non-parametric statistical tests of significance (Mann Whitney U-test) • Your small sample size prohibits parametric tests like the t-test. • Best to calculate your test yourself but double check with online sites • Raw data and calculations should be included in the appendix

13. Writing Your Report • You MUST follow the IB guidelines. • Common omissions: no abstract; data not displayed in three ways i.e. words, tables and graphs; sources not cited, no Works Sited page; no appendices (sample informed consent form, raw data, statistical test calculations, scripted instructions) • You must write like a social scientist

14. Student Advice • Do not underestimate the amount of time required to complete the IA • Do not choose a study that is too obscure • Scientific writing is “way harder” than you think • Think about the best time to hold your experiment so that students will turn up • Time management is the key • It is okay if you do not accept your hypothesis