Research and Program Evaluation Flashcards

A counselor conducting a program evaluation collects both quantitative outcome data and qualitative interview responses. This approach is known as:

Answer: Mixed methods design

Mixed methods designs intentionally integrate quantitative and qualitative data to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research question.

Which statistical measure is used in meta-analysis to express the magnitude of an intervention's effect in standardized units across studies?

Answer: Cohen's d effect size

Cohen's d (and similar effect size indices) expresses the standardized mean difference between groups, allowing comparison and pooling of results across studies with different measurement scales.

According to ACA ethical guidelines, before conducting counseling research, practitioners must obtain:

Answer: IRB approval and voluntary informed consent from participants

ACA ethics require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to protect human subjects and voluntary informed consent from all research participants before data collection begins.

A counselor reads that a depression screening tool has a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 80%. What does the sensitivity of 90% mean?

Answer: 90% of people with depression will correctly screen positive

Sensitivity is the proportion of true positive cases correctly identified by the test; 90% sensitivity means 90% of those who truly have depression will test positive.

Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of a needs assessment in a counseling program evaluation context?

Answer: Identifying gaps between current conditions and desired conditions to guide program planning

A needs assessment identifies the discrepancy between what currently exists and what is needed or desired, informing decisions about program development and resource allocation.

A researcher finds that two variables (e.g., number of therapy sessions attended and symptom reduction) have a Pearson r = .72. How should this result be interpreted?

Answer: There is a strong positive correlation between sessions attended and symptom reduction

A Pearson r of .72 indicates a strong positive correlation, meaning more sessions attended tends to be associated with greater symptom reduction, but correlation does not imply causation.

Which of the following is an example of a formative evaluation in a counseling agency?

Answer: Collecting feedback from clients mid-program to improve ongoing service delivery

Formative evaluation is conducted during program implementation to provide ongoing feedback that can be used to improve the program while it is still running.