LPC Research and Program Evaluation 2

Question 1

A counselor wants to determine whether a new group therapy program actually caused a reduction in client anxiety. Which research design best supports causal inference?

Accepted Answer

Randomized controlled trial with pre/post measures

Answer

Randomized controlled trials with random assignment allow the strongest causal inferences by controlling for confounding variables.

Question 2

In program evaluation, formative evaluation is BEST described as:

Accepted Answer

Monitoring and improving a program while it is ongoing

Answer

Formative evaluation occurs during program implementation to provide feedback for ongoing improvement, unlike summative evaluation which assesses final outcomes.

Question 3

A researcher reports a p-value of 0.03. What does this most accurately mean?

Accepted Answer

If the null hypothesis were true, results this extreme would occur 3% of the time by chance

Answer

A p-value represents the probability of obtaining results at least as extreme as observed, assuming the null hypothesis is true.

Question 4

Which sampling method would be MOST appropriate when studying a rare population such as counselors who specialize in treating torture survivors?

Accepted Answer

Snowball sampling

Answer

Snowball sampling is ideal for rare or hidden populations because existing participants recruit others from their networks.

Question 5

An LPC evaluates a school counseling program and finds a statistically significant improvement in attendance but a very small effect size (d=0.08). The BEST conclusion is:

Accepted Answer

The statistical significance is meaningless without clinical significance

Answer

Statistical significance with a very small effect size suggests the result may not be clinically or practically meaningful, especially with large samples.

LPC - Licensed Professional Counselor Practice Test

LPC - Licensed Professional Counselor Practice Test

LPC Research and Program Evaluation 2