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Inferential testing (A-level only)

Inferential testing (A-level only)

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Question 15

Investigation into Herbal Sleep Aids

A student is investigating the subjective efficacy of two herbal sleep remedies. They recruit a sample of 22 participants suffering from mild insomnia. Each participant experiences two different trial conditions in a counterbalanced order over two weeks:

  • Condition A: Drinking chamomile tea 30 minutes before bedtime for 5 nights.
  • Condition B: Drinking valerian root tea 30 minutes before bedtime for 5 nights.

At the end of each 5-night period, participants rate their overall sleep quality on a subjective scale from 1 to 8 (1 = extremely poor sleep, 8 = excellent sleep).

The student wants to test for a significant difference in the sleep quality ratings between Condition A and Condition B. They propose using a Mann-Whitney U test to analyse the data.

Suggest a more appropriate statistical test of difference for the student to use with this data. Explain two reasons for your choice based on the description of the study.

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Markscheme

Inferential testing (A-level only) Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Inferential testing (A-level only)

121 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Inferential testing (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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