Nola is investigating whether there is a correlation between hours of sleep and how much a person argues. She thinks that people who sleep less may argue more. Her friend Tim is making suggestions about her procedure.

Mark scheme

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

1. 1 mark for an unlinked or brief suggestion about ethics,
2. 2 marks for a clear and linked suggestion about ethics
3. Sleeping at home gives better privacy; (brief) Will be alone to sleep at home; (link)
4. Sleeping at home is more ethical because participants might find being in a strange place / knowing there are researchers around distressing so sleep poorly / which is harmful; (clear and linked) = 2 marks
5. 1 mark for an unlinked or brief practical suggestion
6. 2 marks for a clear and linked practical suggestion
7. Sleeping at home is higher in (ecological) validity / They will behave more naturally / higher mundane realism; (brief)
8. Sleep at home has more ecological validity; sleep time will be typical / likely to show correlation to arguing if there is one; (clear, linked)
9. 1 mark for an unlinked or brief practical suggestion
10. 2 marks for a clear and linked practical suggestion
11. Timing sleep at home is hard to do / Timing sleeping in a lab is easier to do; (brief)
12. Lab is more standardised/controlled; (brief)
13. e.g. people at home might get angry because of other people; (link)
14. Hard to time sleep at home; participant might make errors / lie / not know when they fell asleep / awoken in night; (clear and linked)
15. 1 mark for a generic explanation
16. 1 mark for a link
17. It's a correlation so she cannot judge causation; (generic)
18. It's a correlation so she cannot judge whether sleep deprivation is what causes argumentativeness, it could be that argumentative people do not sleep as well; (explanation and link = 2)
19. She is only considering two factors/there might be a third factor; e.g. stress/work/illness; (generic then link = 2)