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Crafting the Perfect Response:  A Quality Street Analogy

Preparing students for ethics and research methods questions in IB Psychology is akin to teaching them the art of selecting the perfect Quality Street chocolate from a big tub. 

Think of a student's psychological knowledge as the tub, filled with a variety of chocolates, each representing different pieces of information or skills. 

Just as they would meticulously choose a chocolate to satisfy a particular craving, students must identify and select the appropriate knowledge for each exam question they are required to answer.

Teaching this skill to students is crucial because exam questions are crafted by subject experts, often using specialised language that confuses students.

Therefore, it's essential to dissect, discuss, and demonstrate command terms and concepts consistently throughout their 19 month course of study. 

By doing so, students will approach their exam papers with confidence, knowing they can provide the precise response required by the examiner—a bit like offering the examiner the exact Quality Street they asked for!

So, let’s imagine a question prompts students to describe one ethical consideration in one study investigating the relationship between the brain and behaviour [9] (M24 TZ1).  

The knowledge required is represented by a toffee penny.  

The student needs to realise that the examiner wants this particular sticky treat and delve into their tub of knowledge to find and present it.

Dissecting the Exam Question

But what precisely does a question of this nature require from students? 

To begin, let's examine the command term, ‘describe'. 

As outlined in the IB Psychology syllabus, 'describe' denotes providing a detailed account.  

In the context of this question therefore, students are tasked with giving a detailed account of how and why a specific ethical consideration was employed in a brain study.

Understanding Ethical Considerations

The term, ‘ethical consideration’ also often causes confusion.   

An ethical consideration is a deliberation and decision taken regarding the procedure of the study that relates to ethical guidelines.  

Remembering the acronym that ethics is what researchers 'Can Do and Can’t Do With Participants' can aid students in recalling key ethical principles. 

This mnemonic prompts consideration the ethical guidelines: Consent, Debrief, Confidentiality, Deception, Withdrawal, and Protection from psychological or physical harm.Students are required to describe the deliberations and decisions a researcher made in associated with a single ethical guideline. 

This entails examining how it is adhered to, why it is deemed necessary, potential reasons for deviating from the guideline, and strategies for mitigating any breaches.

Following this, students are tasked with choosing a relevant study, providing a succinct description of it. 

Finally, they must elaborate on the ethical consideration related to this study, contextualising it within the topic area, procedure, and participants under examination.

This leads to a simple four paragraph 9-mark plan as follows:

1. Introduction – a definition of the term, 'ethical consideration'.
2. Background information - what are ethical considerations and where do the principals come from? What are the main ethical guidelines?   Select one guideline and explain how it is met, why it is needed, why it may be breached and how to overcome any breaches.
3. Study – a brief description of a relevant study.  I train students to write a sentence for the study’s aim, method, results and conclusion.
4. Link paragraph – a description of how the study demonstrates the ethical consideration.  What consideration was taken?  Why?  Was any negative impact overcome?  How could it be improved?

Introducing ethical consideration questions to students early ensures their familiarity with the structured approach to addressing them during exams. 

This is particularly important, given that most exams include at least one question on this topic, or alternatively, on research methods.

Mastering Research Methods

Research methods questions require answers that focus on the use of an experiment, survey, correlation, case study, observation or interview.

The IB Psychology syllabus and mark schemes seem to be strict on this list of methods (despite it being well-known that metanalyses are an extremely valuable method to psychological researchers).  

In a 9-mark question prompting students to ‘describe or explain the use of one research method in one study investigating [any topic]’, students need to delve into their tub of Quality Street knowledge and pick out the chocolate that represents the following:

1. Introduction – a definition of the term, 'research method'.
2. Background information – what are the six main primary research methods?  Select one to focus on and describe how it works using key terms.
3. Study – a brief description of a relevant study.
4. Link paragraph – an explanation of how the study demonstrates the use of the selected research method.

Once students have mastered the formula for crafting 9-mark responses concerning ethical considerations and research methods, they usually have a smoother transition to composing 22-mark answers on these concepts as well.

Here are essay writing templates for 9 and 22-mark questions on these concepts that you can use with your classes sitting their exams next year. (IB Psychology Essay Planning Template.doc)

I hope I have helped to demystify those potentially nasty ethical consideration and research methods questions and that your students are confident and prepared when they open up their exam papers in November 24 or May 25.

Wishing you a fantastic week as you continue to add to your students' Quality Street tub of knowledge. 

Looking forward to catching up with you next week.

Further Articles in this Series

• Summary Revision for IB Psychology Paper 1.
• Gripping students from the start.
• Maximising Success in the IB Psychology IA.
• Dealing with the Italicised Topics in IB Psychology Paper 1.