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It sounds like the beginning of a geeky science joke – when is a research method not a research method? 

But in IB Psychology, this is no laughing matter. 

This is a critical question you need to pose to your class before any major test, assessment, or their final examinations.

Why is this so important?

Well, the IB Psychology syllabus hides many technical secrets that only examiners and well-researched teachers know. 

It's vital that our students understand these seemingly unwritten rules of the IB Psychology examination mark schemes. 

Otherwise, they might write what seems like a great answer, only to be disappointed on results day because they fell into one of these technical booby traps.

So, this week’s article is dedicated to uncovering my top ten pesky trip wires so you can reveal them to your students too.

Top Ten Pesky Trip Wires

Let's go back to the title of this article for the first one:

1. Specified Research Methods Only: If a question asks students to identify/suggest/describe/explain/discuss/evaluate/contrast a research method, their answer must focus on one of the six IB specified methods (experiments, surveys, correlations, observations, interviews, case studies). They cannot focus on a meta-analysis or any other secondary method, even though these are widely used by psychologists in published work.

2. Correlation Techniques: Related to this is the issue of brain scanning techniques, twin studies, and kinship studies. These are not considered research methods but usually fall under the category of a correlation.

3. Adoption Studies Exception: On the topic of kinship studies, IB does not accept an adoption study as a kinship study, so beware.

4. Focus on Research Methods and Ethics: Research methods and ethical considerations can be asked in relation to any topic. Students can use the studies they know for the topic but make sure they have a writing frame to focus their answer on these areas.

5. Understanding Syllabus Terms: In the syllabus for Paper 1, some terms are in bold and some in italics. The words in bold can be used in 9 or 22-mark questions, while the words in italics can only be used in 9-mark questions. These italicised terms relate to the bold terms above them, so students can use a lot of the same knowledge but must explicitly link it back to the term in the question.

6. Knowing Big Topic Names: Students need to know the big topic names in each paper as these can be used in questions. They should be clear on which theories and studies they have learned that can be applied in their answers.

7. Appropriate Use of Animal Studies: Animal studies should ideally only be used for questions specifically on animal research.

8. HL Extension Topics: Speaking of animal studies, these are a HL extension topic. Higher-level students need to be aware that they are guaranteed at least one HL extension question in Paper 1, Section B (never in Section A). One year, all three 22-mark questions were HL extensions.

9. Ethics in Paper 3: In Paper 3, question 2 is always on ethics. Despite being worth only 6 marks, students are expected to discuss six ethical considerations – three for the first part and three for the second part.

10. Attention to Detail for the IA: For the IA, examiners will deduct marks for the tiniest errors. Even presentation errors lead to deductions despite the mark scheme not having presentation criteria. Ensure your students use a formal font, include a title page and contents page, title all sections, and correctly order sections (Bibliography before Appendix). Double-check everything before submission.

Collaborate and Share

So there you have it – the answer to the central question, when is a research method not a research method? When IB says so! 

Plus, many other small technicalities that need uncovering to prevent your students from tripping up.

Let me know if you have found any others so we can work together to ensure our students get the grades they work so hard for.

Until next week,

Thes

Future articles in this series:

• Reviewing Year 1 content before starting Year 2 content.
• Psychology Extended Essays.
• How to teach the Internal Assessment.