Data Handling and Analysis | AQA A-Level Psychology (7182)
Data Handling and Analysis
- 130 questions
- 7 subtopics
- Paper 2: Psychology in context
- Paper 2
Data Handling and Analysis covers what happens to data once it has been collected: summarising it, displaying it, judging the strength of a relationship, and identifying the level of measurement that governs which test can be used.
It sits within research methods and can be assessed on any of the three papers.
Sample questions from Data Handling and Analysis
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Primary and secondary data
How does primary data collection compare to secondary data in terms of time and cost?
Show the answer
Primary data collection is typically more time-consuming and expensive than using secondary data. -
Primary and secondary data
Why can meta-analysis provide more reliable conclusions than a single study?
Show the answer
Because it synthesises findings across different samples and contexts, giving a broader evidence base. -
Descriptive statistics
Which measure of central tendency is most affected by extreme values or outliers?
Show the answer
The mean. -
Descriptive statistics
Why is standard deviation considered more representative of overall dispersion than the range?
Show the answer
Because standard deviation uses all values in the data set. -
Presentation and display of quantitative data
Why are the bars on a bar chart separated by gaps?
Show the answer
Because bar charts display discrete or categorical data, and the gaps indicate that the categories are separate and not continuous -
Presentation and display of quantitative data
How do tables organise quantitative data?
Show the answer
Into rows and columns to allow clear comparison of values across conditions or groups. -
Distributions
In a positively skewed distribution, what is the order of the mode, median and mean from lowest to highest?
Show the answer
Mode < median < mean. -
Distributions
If a dataset has a few extremely high scores creating a long right tail, which measure of central tendency would be most affected?
Show the answer
The mean would be most affected, as it is pulled towards the extreme high values.
The 7 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Primary and secondary data | Data collected first-hand against data drawn from existing sources, what a meta-analysis combines, and what weakens its conclusions. | 19 |
| Descriptive statistics | Calculating the mean, median and mode, choosing between them for skewed data or categories, and what the range and standard deviation each measure. | 24 |
| Presentation and display of quantitative data | Bar charts, histograms, scattergrams, tables and line graphs, and what each is appropriate for. | 21 |
| Distributions | Normal, positively skewed and negatively skewed distributions, and where the mean, median and mode fall in each. | 16 |
| Analysis and interpretation of correlation | The correlation coefficient, how its strength is banded, why correlation does not establish cause, and why a real relationship can still show no straight-line correlation. | 20 |
| Levels of measurement | Nominal, ordinal and interval data, what distinguishes them, and why the level has to be identified before a test can be chosen. | 16 |
| Coding in content analysis | How categories are built for content analysis, the properties they must have, inter-rater reliability, and the strengths and limitations of coding. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,999 questions with their answers.