In an original study, a researcher investigated the effect of caffeine on typing accuracy (measured as the number of errors made in a 5-minute task) using an independent groups design. Group 1 (10 participants) drank a caffeinated beverage, while Group 2 (10 participants) drank water. A key limitation identified in this original study was that individual differences in baseline typing typing skill (participant variables) could have skewed the results.
To address this, the researcher designed a follow-up study.
The researcher obtained a sample of 10 bilingual administrative assistants. Using a repeated measures design, participants completed two similar translation typing tasks.
The order of the tasks was counterbalanced across participants, and the number of typing errors made during each 5-minute task was recorded.
| Participant | Task A (Water) | Task B (Caffeine) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 5 |
| 2 | 12 | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 4 | 14 | 11 |
| 5 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 9 | 10 |
| 7 | 11 | 8 |
| 8 | 15 | 12 |
| 9 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | 10 | 7 |
Explain how the follow-up study could be said to be an improvement on the original study.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Scientific processes with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 689 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
