| Date | May 2018 | Marks available | 10 | Reference code | 18M.Paper 3.HL.TZ0.3 |
| Level | HL only | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Describe | Question number | 3 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The stimulus material below is based on a research article that addresses participants’ motivation to participate in “extreme sports”.
Extreme sports are physical activities that are dangerous and may result in serious injury or even death. Researchers are interested in why people would be willing to participate in activities that are dangerous, although at this stage there is not yet much qualitative research in this area.
The aim of this qualitative study was to explore motivations for taking part in sky diving or mountaineering (mountain climbing).
Five males and three females who practise sky diving or mountaineering were recruited for the study. An ethics committee approved the research and all participants signed informed consent before the study. They were also asked to choose another name, which would be used to refer to them in the final report.
A semi-structured interview was carried out with each participant. Each interview lasted an hour and took place in locations that each participant chose. The interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim before conducting an inductive content analysis (thematic analysis).
The inductive content analysis of the transcripts showed the following themes related to motivation:
• the challenge of pushing themselves beyond their existing mental and physical limits
• striving for achievement and mastery of their sport
• the feeling of getting better at their sport worked as a reward for the participants
• the feeling of “being in the present” and clearing all other thoughts from their mind
• experiencing pleasurable feelings such as excitement or “adrenaline rush”
• accepting suffering and physical injury as part of the experience of doing extreme sports.
The researchers concluded that the participants’ own explanations suggest that pushing one’s limits and striving for achievement are major motivational factors that outweigh the possible risks involved in taking part in extreme sports.
Carla Willig, A phenomenological investigation of the experience of taking part in ‘extreme sports’ in
Journal of Health Psychology, vol 13(5), pp. 698-699, copyright © 2008 by SAGE Publications.
Reprinted by Permission of SAGE Publications, Ltd.
Describe how researchers in this study could use inductive content analysis (thematic analysis) on the interview transcripts.
Markscheme
Refer to the paper 3 markbands when awarding marks.
The command term “describe” requires candidates to give a detailed account of how inductive content analysis could be used on the interview transcripts in the study.
Responses that use the term “experiment” as a generic term for “study” should not be penalized.
In the context of this study, candidates should describe characteristics or features of the procedure of inductive content analysis on the transcripts. Relevant parts of the procedure of inductive content analysis in this study could include, but are not limited to:
• Reading and rereading the transcripts of the interview to identify possible categories and themes (coding the raw data) that relate to how the participants describe their motivation to participate in extreme sport.
• After coding of data the analysis may reveal emerging themes such as “to be in the present”; feelings of “achievement or mastery”; and accepting suffering and physical injury as part of the experience.
• The different themes should be connected with relevant quotations from the eight participants in the study to support the choice of each theme.
• After initial analysis the researcher could try to identify possible low-level as well as higher-level themes and connect them in meaningful ways to establish hierarchies of themes.
• Construction of a summary table of higher-order themes and illustrating with quotations, for example “the challenge of pushing themselves beyond their existing mental and physical limits”; “striving for achievement and mastery of their sport” and lower-order themes, for example “experiencing pleasurable feelings such as excitement or ‘adrenaline rush’” and also “accepting suffering and physical injury as part of the experience of doing extreme sports”.
• The analysis will continue until saturation of the data.
• The final task is to make interpretations based on the summary table in order to find a relationship between the different themes. This could lead to formulation of theory to include in the final report.
• Credibility checks can take place during the whole process of inductive content analysis, for example checking themes with other coders or researchers as well as participants to have them confirm the interpretation of data. Credibility checks could also include reflexivity, that is, the researcher controls for own biases.
Responses that identify themes mentioned in the stimulus material and only say that inductive content analysis is about finding themes in the transcripts but fail to describe specific elements of the process of inductive content analysis should be awarded up to a maximum of [3].
Responses that merely quote themes mentioned in the stimulus material but fail to describe any elements of the process of inductive content analysis should be awarded [0].
Responses that merely state that inductive content analysis is concerned with finding themes in the transcripts but fail to describe any elements of the process of inductive content analysis should be awarded [0].
