Cambridge A-Level Psychology: Research Methods (9990)

Paper 2 – Research Methods is worth 60 marks, 1 hour 30 minutes, and is one of the two compulsory AS Level papers in Cambridge International AS & A Level Psychology (9990), alongside Paper 1, Approaches, Issues and Debates. Where Paper 1 tests the four core approaches through 12 named core studies, Paper 2 tests the research methodology that runs underneath all of them – the methods, concepts and planning skills psychologists use to design and evaluate studies, both in the abstract and applied to the core studies from Paper 1.

Where this fits in 9990

Everything in this guide is AS Level content, but it is also assumed knowledge for the A Level: Paper 4 (Specialist Options: Application and Research Methods) builds directly on it, requiring candidates to plan studies to a higher standard of detail than Paper 2 expects. A secure grasp of this content at AS Level therefore pays off twice.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (9990) — PAPER 2 RESEARCH METHODS

Six named research methods:

• Experiments (laboratory and field), including experimental designs (independent measures, matched pairs, repeated measures) and design concepts (counterbalancing, random allocation, order effects)
• Self-reports (questionnaires and interviews), including technique and question format
• Case studies — a single participant or unit studied in detail
• Observations (overt/covert, participant/non-participant, structured/unstructured, naturalistic/controlled)
• Correlations — positive and negative, strength, and co-variables
• Longitudinal studies, including experiments with a longitudinal design

Methodological concepts that apply across methods:

• Aims and hypotheses (null and alternative, directional and non-directional)
• Variables (independent, dependent, operational definitions)
• Controlling of variables (controls, standardisation, uncontrolled/participant/situational variables)
• Types of data (quantitative/qualitative, subjective/objective)
• Sampling of participants (opportunity, random, volunteer/self-selecting)
• Ethics, for both human participants and animals
• Validity (including ecological validity, demand characteristics, generalisability)
• Reliability and replicability (inter-rater, inter-observer, test-retest)
• Data analysis (measures of central tendency, measures of spread, tables and graphs)

The six research methods

For each method, candidates need to be able to describe its main features, evaluate it (typically in terms of reliability, validity and ethics), and apply knowledge of it to a novel research scenario – this three-part pattern (describe, evaluate, apply) recurs across every method and is a reliable structure for revision. Some distinctions are frequently tested directly: laboratory versus field experiments; the three experimental designs and the specific problems each one addresses (counterbalancing addresses order effects in repeated measures, for example); the different question formats and techniques within self-reports; and the four descriptive pairs used for observations (overt/covert, participant/non-participant, structured/unstructured, naturalistic/controlled).

Methodological concepts

These concepts are not tied to a single method and are examined both in the abstract and in relation to specific core studies from Paper 1. Variables requires being able to identify and operationalise an independent and dependent variable in a given scenario, not just define the terms. Sampling covers three named techniques (opportunity, random, volunteer/self-selecting) and their implications for generalisability. Ethics is examined separately for human participants (minimising harm, valid/informed consent, right to withdraw, deception, confidentiality, privacy, debriefing) and for animals (minimising harm, replacement, species, numbers, and specific procedural concerns such as pain, suffering, distress, housing, and reward/deprivation/aversive stimuli) – candidates should be ready to apply the correct set depending on which is relevant to the scenario. Validity and reliability are distinct concepts frequently confused with each other: validity concerns whether a study measures what it claims to (ecological validity, demand characteristics, subjectivity/objectivity, generalisability), while reliability concerns consistency (inter-rater, inter-observer and test-retest reliability specifically). Data analysis is limited in scope by design: candidates must recognise and interpret mode, median and mean, range and standard deviation, and read bar charts, histograms and scatter graphs, but the syllabus explicitly states no calculations are required and no statistical tests beyond what is specified need to be understood.

Section A and Section B

Paper 2 has two sections. Section A contains short-answer questions based on general research methods and on research methods relating directly to a specific Paper 1 core study, plus three short-answer scenario-based questions – so revision of Paper 1’s core studies should include noting which research method(s) each one used. Section B is a single planning question, where candidates plan a study and evaluate some aspects of that plan.

The Paper 2 planning question

For the planning question, some aspects of an investigation are given and candidates plan the remaining aspects, then evaluate the plan. Planning must include general features – the procedure of the study, how the plan makes the study valid, how it makes the study reliable, and the types of data collected – plus features specific to whichever research method the question specifies (for example, for a field experiment: independent variable, dependent variable, controls, choice of experimental design and location; for an observational study: overt/covert, participant/non-participant, naturalistic/controlled, and the behavioural-category system used). Two things are explicitly not required at Paper 2 level, and knowing this saves time under exam conditions: candidates are not expected to include aims or hypotheses in the plan, and are not expected to evaluate issues relating to sample/generalisability or ethics of the plan. This is a deliberate contrast with Paper 4’s planning question at A Level, which does require aims, hypotheses, sampling technique and ethics as part of the plan – so candidates should not import Paper 4’s fuller requirements into a Paper 2 answer.

How to approach it

Learn the six methods and the block of methodological concepts as two separate but connected layers: the methods are what a study is, the concepts are what any study can be judged by (valid, reliable, ethical, and so on). When revising Paper 1’s core studies, always note which method each one used, since Section A’s scenario questions frequently draw a link between a familiar study and the method that produced it. For the planning question, work from the syllabus’s own checklist of general features before adding the method-specific detail, and be precise about what Paper 2 does and does not require – adding unnecessary aims, hypotheses or ethical evaluation costs time without earning credit at this paper.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Psychology (9990) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 — official syllabus PDF, section 3 (“Subject content – Research methodology”) and section 4 (“Details of the assessment – Paper 2 Research Methods”). Verified 2026-09-02.