Design ethical research that can answer a focused question
Choose methods, measures and sampling that fit a question, while protecting participants and reporting limitations.
Exam scope and assessment notes
This is original StudyForA teaching and fictional practice, not Cambridge text, an official question or an official mark scheme. The 2026–2028 syllabus calls the written exam Component 1; the 2029–2031 syllabus calls it Paper 1 and reports no significant teaching changes. Check the syllabus for the learner's exam year and follow teacher, centre and assessment-authenticity rules. StudyForA cannot authenticate assessed work, observe collaboration, award official marks or predict a grade.
Before you begin
- Identify whether the task concerns source analysis, essay writing, team assessment or the independent research report.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Why define a measure before collecting data?
What you will learn
- Match primary and secondary research methods to a question
- Plan a suitable sample and measure
- Protect participants and distinguish association from causation
Match method to the evidence needed
A survey can compare reported views, an interview can explore reasons, observation can record defined behaviour and secondary data can show broader patterns. Specify what the method measures, who is included and how the information will answer the question. A method should not claim to measure an outcome it never records.
Plan safeguards before collecting data
Follow teacher and centre approval for research involving people. Explain participation, obtain the required consent, minimise personal data, protect confidentiality and provide a safe way to decline. Avoid sensitive questions unless there is an approved need and appropriate safeguards. Record sample limits, non-response and other influences; an association does not by itself prove cause.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research 9239 syllabus · 2026–2028 Version 3
- Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research 9239 syllabus update · 2026–2028
- Cambridge International AS & A Level Global Perspectives & Research 9239 syllabus · 2029–2031 Version 1
- Cambridge International 9239 subject page and exam-series notice
Pause and explain
What should a student do before surveying classmates for assessed research?
Worked example
A learner asks whether a quiet room changes study interruptions. Design a small, fair and ethical enquiry.
Show the worked solution
- Define an interruption and comparable study periods.
- Use the same observation method when the room is and is not available.
- Avoid recording identities, follow centre approval and report other possible influences.
Answer Use matched study periods and a consistent count of defined interruptions, recording no names or identifiable details. Check with the teacher before collecting any data. Attendance, noise outside the room or staffing may also change, so a small comparison can suggest a pattern but cannot establish that the room alone caused it.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A student wants to know whether a new water fountain changes the number of disposable bottles bought at one school. Propose a fair measurement plan and name two limits.
Give me a hint
Use the same count rule and comparable periods; do not identify individual students.
Compare my reasoning
- Define what bottle purchases or use will be counted.
- Compare a baseline and follow-up period using the same method.
- Name influences besides the fountain and any ethical approval needed.
With teacher approval, count disposable bottles sold or used over matched weeks using the same rule and school area, without recording student identities. Check opening days and other changes such as price or weather. A short one-school comparison may show an association but cannot prove the fountain caused it or predict other schools' results.
Look for these in your work
- Defines a consistent measure
- Uses a comparison period
- Names confounders and privacy safeguards
A researcher has time to interview eight volunteers but wants to claim what all young people in a country believe. How should the claim and method be revised?
Give me a hint
Match the scope of the conclusion to the sample, or plan a broader sample.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the sample and its limits.
- Narrow the question or describe the sample more precisely.
- If a wider claim is needed, choose a suitable sampling approach and disclose non-response.
Eight volunteers can inform an exploratory account of those participants, not estimate a country's views. Narrow the conclusion to the interviewed group or design a broader, transparent sampling plan across relevant regions and groups. Report who was invited, who replied and how the sample still limits generalisation.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies a scope mismatch
- Reframes the claim accurately
- Plans transparent sampling
A questionnaire asks about a student's family income and health. The research question concerns access to a school library. What should the researcher do?
Give me a hint
Apply data minimisation and consult the appropriate teacher before collecting anything sensitive.
Compare my reasoning
- Ask whether the sensitive items are necessary to answer the question.
- Remove unnecessary personal questions and identify a safer access measure.
- Consult the teacher and follow centre approval, consent and privacy procedures.
Those sensitive questions are not obviously needed to study library access and should not be collected without a justified, approved purpose and safeguards. A safer measure could examine opening hours, distance, access arrangements or an anonymous voluntary report about library use. The learner should consult the teacher and follow centre procedures before research.
Look for these in your work
- Applies data minimisation
- Suggests a relevant less-sensitive measure
- Uses centre oversight
Common mistakes
- Collecting personal details that are not needed
- Using a convenience sample and calling it representative
- Claiming that a correlation proves a cause
What can you explain now?
Why define a measure before collecting data?
Compare with the explanation
So the recorded evidence matches the question and can be applied consistently.
A clear measure helps answer the question and compare observations.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Name one reason a method can be appropriate for a question and one limit it may still have.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.