What does Eduqas Component 2 cover?

Component 2, Psychology: Investigating Behaviour, covers research methods (experiments, observation, self-report, correlation, case studies), planning and conducting research (variables, designs, sampling, ethics, reliability and validity), descriptive statistics (central tendency, dispersion, graphs), inferential statistics (the five named tests and significance), and two personal investigations you design and run. It is a 2-hour-15-minute paper worth 100 marks and 33.3 percent.

Which inferential tests must I know for Eduqas?

Five: the binomial sign test (difference, related, nominal), the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test (difference, related, ordinal), the Mann-Whitney U test (difference, unrelated, ordinal), chi-square (difference or association, unrelated, nominal) and Spearman's rho (correlation, ordinal). Choose the test from three questions: difference or correlation, related or unrelated design, and level of measurement.

How do I choose the right statistical test?

Ask three questions. First, is it a test of difference or a correlation? Spearman's rho is the only correlation test. Second, for a difference, is the design related (repeated measures or matched pairs) or unrelated (independent groups)? Third, what is the level of measurement (nominal, ordinal or interval)? Nominal related uses the sign test; nominal unrelated uses chi-square; ordinal related uses Wilcoxon; ordinal unrelated uses Mann-Whitney U.

What are the two personal investigations?

Two studies you design, run, analyse and evaluate using two different methods (for example one experiment and one correlation). You make all the design decisions, collect and analyse the data with descriptive and inferential statistics, and write the report. Component 2 examines your understanding of them and your ability to apply research-methods reasoning to a novel scenario; there is no coursework grade.

How is Component 2 examined?

A 2-hour-15-minute written paper worth 100 marks and 33.3 percent of the A-level. It tests the principles of research, the two personal investigations, and the application of research methods to an unfamiliar scenario, mixing short calculations, design questions, data interpretation and extended evaluation. At least 10 percent of A-level marks assess maths, concentrated here, and a calculator is allowed.

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Eduqas A-Level Psychology: research methods and statistics (Component 2) overview

A complete Eduqas A-Level Psychology guide to Component 2, Investigating Behaviour: the experimental method, observation and self-report, correlation and case studies, sampling and ethics, reliability and validity, descriptive and inferential statistics, and the two personal investigations, with the test-choice decision and how the paper is marked.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min readEduqas-A290-Component-2Updated 2026-06-02

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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What Component 2 demands
The methods
The statistics
Check your knowledge

What Component 2 demands

Component 2 (Psychology: Investigating Behaviour) is about working scientifically. You must master the methods, the statistics (especially the test-choice decision), and the experience of designing and running the two personal investigations, and be able to apply all of this to an unfamiliar scenario. This guide maps the module and how it is examined, with matching dot-point pages for practice.

The methods

Experiments: Laboratory, field, natural and quasi; operationalised IV and DV; directional, non-directional and null hypotheses; extraneous and confounding variables; and the three designs (independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs).
Observation and self-report: Naturalistic, controlled, participant, covert observation with behavioural categories and event or time sampling; questionnaires and structured, unstructured and semi-structured interviews with open and closed questions.
Correlation and case studies: Positive, negative and zero correlations, coefficients and scattergrams (and why correlation is not causation); and the in-depth case study (rich but ungeneralisable).
Sampling and ethics: Random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified sampling; and the BPS principles (consent, deception, right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality) with ways of dealing with issues.
Reliability and validity: Internal and external reliability (test-retest, inter-observer); internal and external validity (ecological, temporal, population, face, concurrent); demand characteristics and investigator effects.

The statistics

Descriptive. Mean, median and mode; range and standard deviation; levels of measurement; percentages and ratios; tables, bar charts, histograms and scattergrams.

Inferential. Probability and significance at $p \le 0.05$ , the null hypothesis, the five named tests, observed versus critical values, and Type I and Type II errors.

Check your knowledge

Name the test for a difference, independent groups, ordinal data. (1 mark)
State the conventional significance level in psychology. (1 mark)
Give one reason a correlation cannot show causation. (1 mark)
Name the three experimental designs. (3 marks)

Sources & how we know this

Eduqas GCE A Level in Psychology (A290) specification — Eduqas (2015)