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Methods: Edexcel A‑Level Psychology questions

Every Edexcel A-Level Psychology exam question on 5.2 Methods, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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946 questions

  1. Q2(a)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(a): Identify the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV) in Lisa’s experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-eco

  2. Q2(b)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(b): Lisa used a random sampling technique to gather her participants. Describe how Lisa may have used a random sampling technique to gather the participants for her

  3. Q2(c)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(c): Explain which statistical test Lisa would use to analyse her data in Table 1. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status ha

  4. Q2(d)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    1 mark5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(d): Lisa found that her results were significant at p-0.01. State what is meant by the term ‘p-0.01’. (1) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether soci

  5. Q2(e)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(e): Explain one strength of Lisa’s experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status had an effect on developing a mental

  6. Q2(f)

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 2(f): Explain one improvement Lisa could make to her experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status had an effect on deve

  7. Q3

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    8 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 3: Ruben is a clinical psychologist who is studying a group of five patients. The patients are attending a local counselling clinic due to their mental health. He

  8. Q2(a)

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 2(a): State a fully operationalised non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis for Sakura’s investigation. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if having a fam

  9. Q2(b)

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 2(b): State two reasons why Sakura used chi-squared to analyse her data. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if having a family member with a mental health

  10. Q2(c)

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    4 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 2(c): Complete Table 2 and calculate chi-squared for Sakura’s data. You must give all your answers to one decimal place. (4) (O–E)2 (O–E)2/E Observed Expected O–E Con

  11. Q2(d)

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 2(d): Explain one strength of Sakura’s investigation into trainee nurses’ willingness to work in mental health. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if havi

  12. Q2(e)

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 2(e): Explain one improvement Sakura could make to her investigation into trainee nurses’ willingness to work in mental health. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigatio

  13. Q4

    June 2024 · Paper 2

    8 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2, question 4: Ferenc is a clinical psychologist. He investigated different attitudes to mental health disorders across cultures. Ferenc gave his participants questionnaires u

  14. Q2(a)

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    1 mark5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 2(a): Identify the dependent variable (DV) in Charles’s investigation. (1) 2 Charles conducted an investigation to see whether therapy delivered online was as effecti

  15. Q2(b)

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 2(b): Charles used a volunteer sampling technique. Explain one weakness of Charles using a volunteer sampling technique in his investigation. (2) 2 Charles conducted

  16. Q2(c)

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    1 mark5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 2(c): Once Charles had collected his data, he conducted a chi‑squared test. State one reason why Charles used a chi‑squared test to analyse his data. (1) 2 Charles co

  17. Q2(d)

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 2(d): Charles found an observed/calculated value of 3.23 where df = 2 when he calculated the chi‑squared test for his investigation. Explain whether Charles’s results

  18. Q2(e)

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    2 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 2(e): Explain one improvement Charles could make to his investigation. (2) 2 Charles conducted an investigation to see whether therapy delivered online was as effecti

  19. Q5

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    8 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 5: Lydia is a clinical psychologist. She is investigating the experiences of patients who attend the local mental health unit. Lydia has decided to use interviews

  20. Q2(a)

    June 2022 · Paper 2

    3 marks5.2 Methods
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2, question 2(a): Describe how Vihaan may have carried out his meta-analysis. (3) 2 Vihaan wanted to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of a psychological t
All 46 questions on Methods, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): Identify the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV) in Lisa’s experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-eco
  2. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): Lisa used a random sampling technique to gather her participants. Describe how Lisa may have used a random sampling technique to gather the participants for her
  3. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(c) (2 marks): Explain which statistical test Lisa would use to analyse her data in Table 1. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status ha
  4. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(d) (1 mark): Lisa found that her results were significant at p-0.01. State what is meant by the term ‘p-0.01’. (1) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether soci
  5. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(e) (2 marks): Explain one strength of Lisa’s experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status had an effect on developing a mental
  6. June 2025, Paper 2, Q2(f) (2 marks): Explain one improvement Lisa could make to her experiment. (2) 2 Lisa conducted an experiment to investigate whether socio-economic status had an effect on deve
  7. June 2025, Paper 2, Q3 (8 marks): Ruben is a clinical psychologist who is studying a group of five patients. The patients are attending a local counselling clinic due to their mental health. He
  8. June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): State a fully operationalised non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis for Sakura’s investigation. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if having a fam
  9. June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): State two reasons why Sakura used chi-squared to analyse her data. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if having a family member with a mental health
  10. June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(c) (4 marks): Complete Table 2 and calculate chi-squared for Sakura’s data. You must give all your answers to one decimal place. (4) (O–E)2 (O–E)2/E Observed Expected O–E Con
  11. June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(d) (2 marks): Explain one strength of Sakura’s investigation into trainee nurses’ willingness to work in mental health. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigation to see if havi
  12. June 2024, Paper 2, Q2(e) (2 marks): Explain one improvement Sakura could make to her investigation into trainee nurses’ willingness to work in mental health. (2) 2 Sakura conducted an investigatio
  13. June 2024, Paper 2, Q4 (8 marks): Ferenc is a clinical psychologist. He investigated different attitudes to mental health disorders across cultures. Ferenc gave his participants questionnaires u
  14. June 2023, Paper 2, Q2(a) (1 mark): Identify the dependent variable (DV) in Charles’s investigation. (1) 2 Charles conducted an investigation to see whether therapy delivered online was as effecti
  15. June 2023, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): Charles used a volunteer sampling technique. Explain one weakness of Charles using a volunteer sampling technique in his investigation. (2) 2 Charles conducted
  16. June 2023, Paper 2, Q2(c) (1 mark): Once Charles had collected his data, he conducted a chi‑squared test. State one reason why Charles used a chi‑squared test to analyse his data. (1) 2 Charles co
  17. June 2023, Paper 2, Q2(d) (2 marks): Charles found an observed/calculated value of 3.23 where df = 2 when he calculated the chi‑squared test for his investigation. Explain whether Charles’s results
  18. June 2023, Paper 2, Q2(e) (2 marks): Explain one improvement Charles could make to his investigation. (2) 2 Charles conducted an investigation to see whether therapy delivered online was as effecti
  19. June 2023, Paper 2, Q5 (8 marks): Lydia is a clinical psychologist. She is investigating the experiences of patients who attend the local mental health unit. Lydia has decided to use interviews
  20. June 2022, Paper 2, Q2(a) (3 marks): Describe how Vihaan may have carried out his meta-analysis. (3) 2 Vihaan wanted to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of a psychological t
  21. June 2022, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): Vihaan collected secondary data. Compare primary and secondary data as used in clinical psychology. (2) 2 Vihaan wanted to conduct a meta-analysis to investigat
  22. June 2022, Paper 2, Q5 (8 marks): Evaluate the use of the longitudinal research method as used in clinical psychology. (8)
  23. November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): Describe how Motsi may have gathered her volunteer sample. (2) 2 Motsi carried out an investigation to see if culture had an influence on the treatments people
  24. November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): Explain one reason why a random sample of participants may be better than a volunteer sample of participants for Motsi’s investigation. (2) 2 Motsi carried out
  25. November 2021, Paper 2, Q2(c) (2 marks): Motsi used an unstructured interview to ask her participants about any treatment they were receiving for their mental health disorder. Explain one weakness of M
  26. November 2021, Paper 2, Q3(a) (2 marks): State a fully operationalised non-directional (two-tailed) alternate hypothesis for Rodney’s investigation. (2) 3 Rodney carried out an investigation to see whe
  27. November 2021, Paper 2, Q3(b) (4 marks): Calculate the standard deviation for the participants who had one mental health disorder using the data in Table 1. Show your working and give your answer to on
  28. October 2020, Paper 2, Q2(a) (1 mark): Suggest one open question Andi may use in her interview about the influence of diagnosis on family relationships. (1) 2 Andi is a clinical psychologist who is i
  29. October 2020, Paper 2, Q2(b) (2 marks): Andi collated the data from her closed questions. Her results are shown in Table 1. Patient and family Patient and family who waiting for a diagnosis already ha
  30. October 2020, Paper 2, Q2(c) (2 marks): Andi found an observed / calculated value of 5.84 when df=1 when she calculated the chi-squared test for her investigation. Explain whether Andi’s results were
  31. October 2020, Paper 2, Q2(d) (4 marks): Andi carried out a thematic analysis on the data from the open questions. Explain one strength and one weakness of thematic analysis as used by Andi. (4) 2 Andi
  32. October 2020, Paper 2, Q3(b) (4 marks): Carlsson et al. (2000) collected secondary data. Explain one strength and one weakness of using secondary data in clinical psychology. (4) 3 In your studies of
  33. June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(a) (2 marks): State two reasons why Nancy selected a Mann-Whitney U test to use on her data. (2) 3 Nancy carried out an experiment to see the effects of sensory deprivation o
  34. June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(b) (4 marks): Nancy’s results are shown in Table 1. Complete Table 1 and calculate the Mann-Whitney U for the data in Table 1. You must give your answer to one decimal place.
  35. June 2019, Paper 2, Q4 (8 marks): George is a clinical psychologist who works in a psychiatric hospital. He had a patient referred to him six months ago and read the detailed notes from the doct
  36. June 2018, Paper 2, Q1(a) (1 mark): State one guideline from the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC). (1) 1 Mundra is a clinical psychologist. She has to abide by the Health and Care Prof
  37. June 2018, Paper 2, Q1(b) (3 marks): Describe how Mundra would use one guideline from the HCPC in her practice. (3) 1 Mundra is a clinical psychologist. She has to abide by the Health and Care Prof
  38. June 2018, Paper 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): Analyse what Archie’s results show about people’s attitudes to those with a mental health issue. (2) 2 Archie carried out an interview looking at people’s attit
  39. June 2018, Paper 2, Q2(b) (3 marks): Draw a bar chart to show the median results of Archie’s study using the data from Table 1. (3) 2 Archie carried out an interview looking at people’s attitudes t
  40. June 2018, Paper 2, Q3(a) (2 marks): Describe how Erik may obtain his sample for his cross-sectional study. (2) 3 Erik has been asked to carry out a cross-sectional study of patients’ behaviour on
  41. June 2018, Paper 2, Q3(b) (3 marks): Erik has been asked to collect primary data as part of his cross-sectional study. Describe how Erik could collect primary data regarding the patients’ behaviour
  42. June 2018, Paper 2, Q3(c) (4 marks): Explain one strength and one weakness of a cross-sectional study. (4) 3 Erik has been asked to carry out a cross-sectional study of patients’ behaviour on a psy
  43. June 2017, Paper 2, Q3(a) (3 marks): Calculate the measures of central tendency for the data in Table 1 and complete Table 1 with your answers. (3) 3 A group of psychiatrists conducted research wit
  44. June 2017, Paper 2, Q3(b) (1 mark): Define what is meant by the term ‘a measure of dispersion’. (1) 3 A group of psychiatrists conducted research with patients experiencing depression. They asked
  45. June 2017, Paper 2, Q3(c) (2 marks): A group of patients without depression were asked to rate their mood every day over a month to act as a control group. The psychiatrists calculated the standard
  46. June 2017, Paper 2, Q4 (8 marks): Interviews are one research method used within clinical psychology. Evaluate the use of interviews within clinical psychology. (8)

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