What if you get the “wrong results?”

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Your IA experiment didn’t work? You were hoping to “prove” your theory right and have the same results as the original weren’t you? Never mind, this can teach you a few valuable lessons and it won’t affect your marks. Here’s what you need to do.  You’ll still need to conduct your descriptive and inferential statistics. You’ll also need to explain …

How to write your IA evaluation

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

If you miss one important detail you could lose marks. Read carefully so you can score 6/6 in the IA Evaluation. Of the four sections in the IA (Introduction, Exploration, Analysis and Evaluation), the Evaluation is the hardest to write. Fewer students score in the top mark band (5-6 out of 6) for this than any other section. In fact, …

Two-tailed or one-tailed test?

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

I can almost guarantee you’ll need a one-tailed test for your inferential statistics in the IB Psychology IA. Let’s see why. It’s one of the most common mistakes made in the analysis, but it’s so easy to avoid. Do you need a one or two-tailed inferential statistics test (e.g. MWU or Wilcoxon)? The Easy Answer If you have a one-tailed …

Correlational studies on PTSD

Travis DixonAbnormal Psychology, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Research Methodology

Correlational studies are one of the most commonly used research methods in the study of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this post we’ll review WHAT correlational studies are, HOW they’re used to study PTSD and WHY they’re used. We’ll also review three key studies that can support this explanation.  Research methods essays are the hardest to write, but that also …

Example Essay: Research methods (case studies) in the biological approach

Travis DixonBiological Psychology, Research Methodology, Revision and Exam Preparation

Essays on research methods and ethical considerations are the hardest to write in IB Psychology exams. Here is an example essay on the use of case studies in the biological approach. Notice how the essay has a good balance between explaining the method (central argument), using studies (supporting evidence) and explaining limitations (counter-arguments).  Read More:  Example Essay: Technological Techniques 10 …

IA Graph: How to create the perfect graph for your IB Psychology IA

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Your graph must be accurate and “address the hypothesis.” In this post we’ll look at how you can create the perfect IA graph for the IB Psychology IA.  Your research hypothesis will be based on the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. To test this hypothesis you created two conditions (I hope) in your experiment to see …

Mean, median or mode? How to apply descriptive statistics for the IA.

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Read carefully so you’ll know how to apply descriptive statistics for the IA PROPERLY! (Or watch the video explanation here). I will freely admit, that I can’t explain it any clearer than what’s included on this excellent post on MyIB. Perhaps the most value I can offer is to make people aware of this resource. Before we look at what you have …

How to write the IA Introduction

Travis DixonInternal Assessment (IB)

Knowing how to write the IA Introduction for IB Psychology can be difficult. This post gives a few tips to make it easier. While there is no prescribed way to write your IA Introduction in IB Psychology. if you’re struggling to get started the following format might help. However, feel free to structure it in a way that makes sense …