Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Research & Program Evaluation Questions and Answers

Question 1

A counselor at a community agency is developing a new stress management workshop.
During the initial pilot sessions, the counselor collects feedback from participants about the clarity of the materials and the pacing of the workshop to make immediate improvements.
This type of evaluation is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Formative evaluation

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Summative evaluation

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Needs assessment

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Outcome evaluation

Question 2

A school counselor implements a new anti-bullying program at one middle school. To measure its effectiveness, the counselor compares the number of reported bullying incidents at that school to another middle school in a different district that does not have the program. Midway through the study, a popular social media influencer launches a viral anti-bullying campaign. This campaign represents a significant threat to the study's:

Accepted Answer

Internal validity

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External validity

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Content validity

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Test-retest reliability

Question 3

A researcher wants to understand the lived experiences and the essence of what it is like for counselors to work with clients who have experienced a sudden traumatic loss. Which of the following research methodologies would be most appropriate for this study?

Accepted Answer

Phenomenological study

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Correlational study

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True experimental design

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Case study

Question 4

A researcher conducts a study to test the effectiveness of a new therapy on reducing symptoms of social anxiety. After analyzing the data, the researcher obtains a p-value of .04. If the chosen level of significance (alpha) is .05, what is the most appropriate conclusion?

Accepted Answer

The results are statistically significant, and the null hypothesis should be rejected.

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The p-value indicates a large effect size.

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The results are not statistically significant, and the null hypothesis is retained.

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The study has high external validity.

Question 5

Which of the following research questions is the best example of applied research in counseling?

Accepted Answer

Is solution-focused brief therapy more effective than psychoeducation for improving the academic self-efficacy of first-year college students?

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What are the fundamental neurobiological processes associated with empathy?

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How do attachment styles develop during early childhood across different cultures?

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What is the basic cognitive structure of memory for emotional events?

Question 6

A researcher wants to survey school counselors in a large state. The researcher obtains a complete list of all 5,000 school counselors in the state, randomly selects the 7th person on the list, and then selects every 25th person thereafter. This sampling technique is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Systematic sampling

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Stratified random sampling

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Convenience sampling

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Cluster sampling