Two studies are using different methods to investigate the topic of dreaming in deaf people: : Dr Kahlil is studying Joseph, who is deaf and has dreams about people using sign language. Dr Hart is studying six deaf people and six hearing people to compare the length of their REM periods.

Mark scheme

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

1. [1] 1 mark for reasoning (no mark for just stating 'Dr Kahlil')
2. [1] 1 mark for link/detail/comparison
3. [1] The first study / Dr Kahlil's because he is studying one person; (reasoning)
4. [1] He only studies Joseph; (link)
5. [1] The first study / Dr Kahlil's because he is studying in depth; (reasoning)
6. [1] He studies sign language dreams in detail; (link)
7. [2] Dr Kahlil's because he studies one participant whereas Dr Hart compares two groups = 2 (comparison)
8. [1] 1 mark for strength of a case study
9. [2] 2 mark strength of a case study linked to topic (not simply to 'Joseph')
10. [1] Collects in depth data / reasons why;
11. [1] So can better understand deaf people's / sign language dreams;
12. [1] Case studies produce detailed data about rare cases = 1 mark (generic strength)
13. [2] Analysing the dreams of deaf people may be difficult because they may dream differently from hearing people and in a case study care can be taken to ensure the researcher's interpretation matches what the participant meant = 2 marks (linked strength)
14. [1] Case studies can use several different techniques / triangulation (raising validity) = 1 mark (generic strength)
15. [2] Case studies of deaf people can use different techniques such as interviews (in sign language), written dream diaries and EEGs which will be helpful to ensure interpretations are valid = 2 marks (linked strength)
16. [0] More data/results = 0 [case studies gain in depth data not 'more data']