| Date | November 2016 | Marks available | 10 | Reference code | 16N.Paper 3.HL.TZ0.1 |
| Level | HL only | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Explain | Question number | 1 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The stimulus material below is based on a research article that describes some of the positive experiences of teenage motherhood that can occur in spite of challenges to the mothers’ future plans.
In the United Kingdom, there is a general concern about teenage pregnancy because it is often associated with negative outcomes such as poverty, interrupted education and early entrance into the welfare system.
The aim of this study was to investigate how teenage mothers experienced motherhood and how this had influenced their expectations of the future. The two female researchers already worked with teenage mothers in a city in the United Kingdom before the study. According to them, previous research has primarily focused on the disadvantages of early motherhood, and not on how young mothers can overcome obstacles, even gaining psychological benefit from having a child.
Young mothers were identified based on specific criteria (for example, the child was born before the mother was twenty and was living with her). The mothers were found through a patient database of family doctors. Seventeen mothers were selected initially and nine agreed to be part of this purposive sample. The local research ethics committee gave ethical approval for the study. The participants were all informed about the study and their rights. They all gave consent to participate. The names of the participants were changed in the final report.
The researchers carried out semi-structured interviews in the participants’ homes. The interviews were audio-recorded and later transcribed verbatim to allow for inductive content analysis.
The results showed that at this point in their lives the young mothers were very positive about their experience of motherhood in spite of the challenges. Most of them had felt an immediate bond with the baby once it was born. Some said it was the right decision to keep the baby and that being a mother had made them “grow up”. Some said that having responsibility for the baby made them more ambitious and determined to have a career although the pregnancy had for a time forced them to stop their education or work.
The researchers concluded that early motherhood does not necessarily have only negative outcomes. It may also be the turning point to maturity and development of a career, especially if young mothers are supported by family, health professionals and society.
[Source: Adapted from Clare J. Seamark and Pamela Lings, “Positive experiences of teenage motherhood:
a qualitative study.” British Journal of General Practice, 2004, 54, 813–818.]
Explain one effect of participant expectations and one effect of researcher bias that could be relevant to this study.
Markscheme
Refer to the paper 3 markbands when awarding marks.
The command term “explain” requires candidates to give a detailed account, including reasons and causes, of one effect of participant expectations and one effect of researcher bias that could be relevant to this study.
Responses that use the term “experiment” as a generic term for “study” should not be penalized.
Participant expectations can be described as participant factors that could influence the outcome of the research.
Effects of participants’ expectations in this study could include, but are not limited to:
- Participants’ ideas of the study could lead them to give answers they think are in line with what they think the researchers want, which would bias the data. This could be particularly true if there is a good rapport between the interviewer and the participants. In this study, the participants could perhaps assume that the researcher is more interested in the positive aspects of teenage motherhood than the negative and therefore adjust their answers in that direction. However, it is very difficult to check if this happens.
- Social desirability effects could be a factor in a socially sensitive study like the one in the stimulus material: participants may behave in ways that they think will give them social approval. In this study it could be that the young mothers answer the researchers' questions in ways that make them appear in a better light because they don't want to admit to undesirable traits such as not being able to live up to their role as a mother. They could for example say that they feel happier than they actually do in order to avoid negative reactions. If this is the case the results would be biased.
Effects of researcher bias can be described as researcher factors such as the researchers' beliefs or values that could potentially bias the research process. For example, the researchers argue that previous research on teenage mothers has mainly focused on the negative consequences of early motherhood (lines 6–9 “According to them, previous research has primarily focused…”).
Effects of researcher bias in this study could include, but are not limited to:
- Collection of data (interviewing): the researchers conducted the interviews themselves and they may have influenced the outcome of the interview by nodding and smiling more when participants respond as expected and smiling less when they give less expected answers.
- Data analysis: the researchers’ beliefs and expectations of a more positive way of experiencing early motherhood could influence the way the data is analyzed. This could be dealt with by having another researcher check the analysis (credibility check).
If a candidate explains more than one effect of participant expectations or more than one effect of researcher bias that could be relevant to the study, credit should be given only to the first explanation.
If a candidate addresses only participant expectations or only researcher bias apply the markbands up to a maximum of [5].
