CPCE Research & Program Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A counselor uses structured interviews and observation to understand clients' lived experiences of grief. This approach reflects which research paradigm?
- Positivist/quantitative paradigm
- Constructivist/qualitative paradigm (Correct answer)
- Post-positivist experimental design
- Single-subject behavioral analysis
Correct answer: Constructivist/qualitative paradigm
Constructivist qualitative research seeks to understand subjective, lived experiences through methods like interviews and observation.
Question 2: Which measure of central tendency is most resistant to the influence of extreme outlier scores?
- Mean
- Median (Correct answer)
- Mode
- Range
Correct answer: Median
The median, as the middle value, is not affected by extreme scores, making it more robust than the mean in skewed distributions.
Question 3: In needs assessment, a 'discrepancy model' focuses on:
- The gap between current conditions and desired outcomes (Correct answer)
- Comparing program costs to client outcomes achieved
- Identifying which staff training needs are most urgent
- Surveying stakeholders about program satisfaction
Correct answer: The gap between current conditions and desired outcomes
The discrepancy model identifies needs by measuring the gap between where things are now and where they should be.
Question 4: A counselor researcher uses member checking in a qualitative study. The primary purpose of member checking is to:
- Confirm that participants signed informed consent forms
- Have participants verify the accuracy of the researcher's interpretations (Correct answer)
- Increase the sample size by adding new participants
- Test whether findings replicate across different researchers
Correct answer: Have participants verify the accuracy of the researcher's interpretations
Member checking enhances credibility by allowing participants to review and confirm or correct the researcher's interpretations of their experiences.
Question 5: Which correlation coefficient value indicates the strongest relationship between two variables?
- +0.32
- -0.78 (Correct answer)
- +0.55
- -0.21
Correct answer: -0.78
The strength of a correlation is determined by its absolute value regardless of direction, and -0.78 has the highest absolute value among the options.
Question 6: When conducting program evaluation in a school setting, 'process evaluation' specifically examines:
- Whether the program achieved its intended long-term goals
- How the program was delivered and whether it followed the planned model (Correct answer)
- The cost savings generated by the counseling program
- Client satisfaction ratings collected at program completion
Correct answer: How the program was delivered and whether it followed the planned model
Process evaluation assesses program fidelity — whether the program was implemented as intended and with what quality.
Question 7: A counselor researcher wants to compare mean anxiety scores across three different therapy groups. The most appropriate statistical test is:
- Independent samples t-test
- Chi-square test of independence
- One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (Correct answer)
- Pearson product-moment correlation
Correct answer: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
ANOVA is used to compare means across three or more independent groups simultaneously while controlling the Type I error rate.
CPCE Research & Program Evaluation 3
A counselor uses structured interviews and observation to understand clients' lived experiences of grief.
This approach reflects which research paradigm?