A-LevelPsychologyResearch methods9990/21 · May/June 2021 · Q914 Marks

Jabir is investigating the social lives of old people and is using a questionnaire to measure their friendships.

(a)(i)Jabir has identified three features of old people that are relevant to his study: • whether they live alone or not • whether they belong to any group or club • their exact age. Suggest why each of these features is relevant to Jabir's study.[3]
(a)(ii)Describe how Jabir could use volunteer sampling to obtain a sample.[3]
(a)(iii)Outline one reason why Jabir may exclude some old people from his sample.[1]
(b)Suggest how Jabir could define the variable of ‘friendship' in his study.[2]
(c)Jabir intends to collect all of his data in two days. Suggest one reason why this may reduce the validity of his findings.[2]
(d)Explain one weakness of using a questionnaire for Jabir's study.[3]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[3] 1 mark per linked explanation ×3
whether they live alone or not:
people in care homes are surrounded by people they might call 'friends';
people living alone are more likely to have known the people nearby for years, so call them friends;
older people who had more friends when they were young might be more likely to opt for a care home (so look like they have more friends in old age);
whether they belong to any group or club:
People with sources of people from groups (e.g. religious, clubs, sports) may appear to have more friends;
older people who had more friends when they were young may be more likely to join things (so look like they have more friends in old age);
their exact age:
Older people's friends might be dying more (so they would have fewer);
Older might have vision/hearing/mobility problems (so may be less able to maintain friendships);
[3] 1 mark for each identification/detail point about how to obtain a volunteer sample.
For full 3 marks, at least one point should be linked to Jabir's study.
Place adverts (in a newspaper/on the internet); (generic identification)
In old people's homes; (linked identification)
on internet sites for old people/dementia/arthritis; (linked detail)
Ask for volunteers for a study on friendships/deceive them about the aim; (generic detail)
[1] 1 mark for reason (explained, not identified)
If they are deaf/blind/disabled as it may be hard for them to maintain friendships;
If they are unwell/recently bereaved as it might be distressing for them;
If they have memory problems so are unable to accurately recall their friendships;
If they have no family so have greater need of friends;
If they have a large, close family so have no need for friends;
[2] 1 mark for a basic operationalisation
1 mark for detail
Having a person you can talk to;
Somebody who helps you/who you help;
Who you have known for more than X months/years;
Who you trust;
Who you would confide in;
Who you see/talk to/communicate with regularly;
Who is not a member of your family;
[2] 1 mark for the reason why
1 mark for the effect on the validity of Jabir's study
Must be linked to Jabir's study for 2 marks
Deciding if someone is a friend may depend on whether you have seen/spoken to them recently; (why)
So the measure would be of recent contact not friendships; (effect)
If you feel lonely on the day you are tested you may not be able to remember any friends at all; (why)
So the measure would be of immediate feelings not friendships; (effect)
Old people may not remember so may need more time to think of their friends; (why)
So the measure would be of recall ability not friendships; (effect)
Short of time/rushed; (why)
because all the old people might sleep all afternoon so he could only collect data in two mornings; (effect)
some of the old people might be busy those two days; (why)
so he would have a limited/biased sample; (effect)
[3] 3 marks for suggested weakness.
For full 3 marks, answer must be linked to Jabir's study.
Old people may have difficulty reading/concentrating; (link)
So they may appear to have fewer friends; (link)
Which reduces validity; (generic)
People may not return questionnaires; (generic)
So the overall number of participants could be low; (generic)
So would not reflect the variability of friendships in old people, lowering generalisability; (link)
Some types of people may be less likely to return questionnaires; (generic)
e.g. people with lots of friends might be too busy to send them back; (link)
Which would create bias in the data; (generic)
Because the respondents might lie/They might give socially desirable answers; (generic)
To hide the fact they have no friends; (link)
So it would reduce validity/so it would look like old people have more friends than they really do;