Open University Exams - Psychology

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Shane_ism

Hi, I'm wondering how exactly exams work through open university, or even university in general.
I'll be starting DE200 Investigating Psychology 2 later this year which has an exam as part of it.
Is there any inclination as to what the exam consists of beforehand? I.E. given 3 questions to prepare and the exam will be one of the questions.
Or even given the questions beforehand anyways like the TMAs but obviously you do it in person etc

Hi!
When I did this module, the exam took place at a (kind of) local hotel in a conference room. It was a 3-hour long exam in 2 parts. In part 1, we were given some key terms, which we had to describe, explain and provide an example of (About 45 terms were provided well in advance and I personally used flashcards to revise these). The second part involved seen essay questions. Again, the topics (I think there were 6) were provided in advance, 2 or 3 (I can't remember) then came up in the actual exam and we had to write an essay answering the question. If I remember correctly (which I might not!) we had to write 2 essays and write about 3 key terms.

I think that was it, but I may have forgotten some details. Also, I'm assuming this hasn't changed since I did it in 2017.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

@-Eirlys- might have done that module previously and have some idea?

You might want to check with your tutor what the exam format will be with the continuing COVID situation - if it's held online then the format might change from previous non-COVID years.

Definitely check the module materials to see what you are allowed to bring into the exam - for example the maths module I did with the OU let you bring in the course handbook with "special annotations" which basically meant anything you could write on the pages. In this sense that exam became a lot about how effectively I was able to use the handbook as a reference tool.

Not all modules permit such extensive annotations (if any) and many do not permit any external materials to be brought in (this would have been the case for the cancelled exam for my Greek module).

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 3

OP

Original post by artful_lounger

@-Eirlys- might have done that module previously and have some idea?

You might want to check with your tutor what the exam format will be with the continuing COVID situation - if it's held online then the format might change from previous non-COVID years.

Definitely check the module materials to see what you are allowed to bring into the exam - for example the maths module I did with the OU let you bring in the course handbook with "special annotations" which basically meant anything you could write on the pages. In this sense that exam became a lot about how effectively I was able to use the handbook as a reference tool.

Not all modules permit such extensive annotations (if any) and many do not permit any external materials to be brought in (this would have been the case for the cancelled exam for my Greek module).

Yes I was wondering if any material was aloud to be taken in as that's more of a test of memory than academic skill? I don't think I'd worry much if this was allowed, although maybe they do want to see what knowledge has actually sank in

Reply 4

OP

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Nerol

Hi!
When I did this module, the exam took place at a (kind of) local hotel in a conference room. It was a 3-hour long exam in 2 parts. In part 1, we were given some key terms, which we had to describe, explain and provide an example of (About 45 terms were provided well in advance and I personally used flashcards to revise these). The second part involved seen essay questions. Again, the topics (I think there were 6) were provided in advance, 2 or 3 (I can't remember) then came up in the actual exam and we had to write an essay answering the question. If I remember correctly (which I might not!) we had to write 2 essays and write about 3 key terms.

I think that was it, but I may have forgotten some details. Also, I'm assuming this hasn't changed since I did it in 2017.

That's great thank you!
Were the terms and questions visible at the start of the year like all other material/TMAs etc?
Are there also things like word count and referencing?

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Debate & Current Affairs Helper

Original post by Shane_ism

Yes I was wondering if any material was aloud to be taken in as that's more of a test of memory than academic skill? I don't think I'd worry much if this was allowed, although maybe they do want to see what knowledge has actually sank in

It definitely varies between modules so worth checking! Some things they do want you to have internalised, others they're happy for you to do in an "open book" format to varying extents :smile:

Reply 6

-Eirlys-

Original post by Shane_ism

Hi, I'm wondering how exactly exams work through open university, or even university in general.
I'll be starting DE200 Investigating Psychology 2 later this year which has an exam as part of it.
Is there any inclination as to what the exam consists of beforehand? I.E. given 3 questions to prepare and the exam will be one of the questions.
Or even given the questions beforehand anyways like the TMAs but obviously you do it in person etc

I've done that module though thankfully our exams got cancelled! I think you have to prepare three essay answers and memorise them so you're prepared for whatever question shows up and then you have to memorise 40+ terms and then define I think 6 or 8 of them in the exam. You usually will go to an exam hall to do the exam.

So yeah, essentially, you are given the questions beforehand.

Reply 7

Veet Voojagig

11

Exams this year are still being done remotely. I don't know what the actual format is of the psychology paper, but they will go over that closer to exam time. The exam prep tutorials are incredibly valuable because they will provide all this information as well as many other useful tips and advice.

Edit: Sorry, didn't realise you hadn't started the module yet. For exams taking place in 2023, they will announce later in the year whether they will be remote or in person. But still make sure to attend the exam prep tutorials :smile:

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 8

OP

Thanks for the help guys. I've actually found some previous papers they you can download on OUstudentsshop
How many weeks for the exam would you say the questions are released? Are you allowed to apply external sources to these exams or is it module resources only? Also how does it work in terms of referencing, is it a case of just remembering the names and year to whichever research you refer to?
Is there any marking guidance given?

Reply 9

Veet Voojagig

11

You only get the actual questions on the day of the exam. They are not going to give you a sneak preview of the current exam paper. As I said in my previous post, the exam prep tutorials will go into detail about the format of the paper, referencing, use of outside sources... etc. Don't fret about it now. It is still a good way into the future and you have the whole module to study first.

Reply 10

OP