Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Research & Program Evaluation Questions and Answers — 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:
- Summative evaluation
- Formative evaluation (Correct answer)
- Needs assessment
- Outcome evaluation
Correct answer: Formative evaluation
Formative evaluation is conducted during the development or improvement of a program to provide feedback for immediate adjustments. In contrast, summative evaluation occurs at the end of a program to assess its overall effectiveness.
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:
- External validity
- Content validity
- Internal validity (Correct answer)
- Test-retest reliability
Correct answer: Internal validity
Internal validity refers to the degree of confidence that the causal relationship being tested is trustworthy and not influenced by other factors. The viral campaign is a 'history' event—an external event that can affect the outcome of the study, making it difficult to determine if changes were due to the program or the campaign.
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?
- Phenomenological study (Correct answer)
- Correlational study
- True experimental design
- Case study
Correct answer: Phenomenological study
Phenomenology is a qualitative research approach that seeks to understand and describe the essence of a lived experience from the perspective of the participants. This aligns perfectly with the goal of understanding the subjective experience of counselors working with a specific client population.
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?
- The p-value indicates a large effect size.
- The results are not statistically significant, and the null hypothesis is retained.
- The study has high external validity.
- The results are statistically significant, and the null hypothesis should be rejected. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The results are statistically significant, and the null hypothesis should be rejected.
Statistical significance is determined by comparing the p-value to the pre-determined alpha level. Since the p-value (.04) is less than the alpha level (.05), the result is considered statistically significant. This leads the researcher to reject the null hypothesis, which posits that there is no effect or difference.
Question 5: Which of the following research questions is the best example of applied research in counseling?
- What are the fundamental neurobiological processes associated with empathy?
- Is solution-focused brief therapy more effective than psychoeducation for improving the academic self-efficacy of first-year college students? (Correct answer)
- How do attachment styles develop during early childhood across different cultures?
- What is the basic cognitive structure of memory for emotional events?
Correct answer: Is solution-focused brief therapy more effective than psychoeducation for improving the academic self-efficacy of first-year college students?
Applied research is designed to solve specific, practical problems and inform practice. This question directly compares the effectiveness of two interventions for a specific problem (academic self-efficacy) in a specific population (first-year college students). The other options are examples of basic research, which aims to expand fundamental knowledge.
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:
- Stratified random sampling
- Convenience sampling
- Systematic sampling (Correct answer)
- Cluster sampling
Correct answer: Systematic sampling
Systematic sampling is a probability sampling method that involves selecting elements from an ordered sampling frame at a regular, periodic interval after a random start. This is different from stratified sampling, which involves dividing the population into subgroups (strata) first.
Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Research & Program Evaluation Questions and Answers
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: