ACWC - Research & Program Evaluation

A researcher administers a questionnaire to examine the relationship between stress and burnout among counselors but does not manipulate any variables. This study is BEST classified as:

a. Correlational research
b. Experimental research
c. Case study
d. Ethnography

a

A researcher randomly assigns participants to treatment and control groups to determine whether a new counseling intervention reduces anxiety. This is an example of a:

a. Quasi-experiment
b. True experiment
c. Ex post facto study
d. Longitudinal study

b

A school counselor evaluates a new intervention but cannot randomly assign students or create a true control group because of school policy. Which research design is MOST appropriate?

a. True experiment
b. Correlational study
c. Quasi-experiment
d. Ethnography

c

A counselor examines the long-term effects of childhood trauma by comparing adults who experienced abuse with those who did not. Because the independent variable cannot be manipulated, the BEST design is:

a. Experimental
b. Survey
c. Longitudinal
d. Ex post facto

d

Which characteristic is MOST associated with qualitative research?

a. Focus on understanding participants' experiences in depth.
b. Hypothesis testing through statistical analysis.
c. Random assignment.
d. Numerical measurement.

a

A researcher spends a year living within a cultural community to understand its customs and beliefs. This qualitative method is known as:

a. Case study
b. Ethnography
c. Action research
d. Pilot study

b

A counselor combines statistical outcome data with detailed interviews describing clients' experiences of treatment. This is an example of:

a. Quantitative research
b. Qualitative research
c. Mixed-method research
d. Action research

c

Which step should occur immediately after identifying a research problem?

a. Analyze the data.
b. Collect data.
c. Report findings.
d. Review the existing literature.

d

A researcher conducts a small preliminary study to determine whether a larger investigation is feasible. This is called a:

a. Pilot study
b. Cross-sectional study
c. Action research
d. Single-subject design

a

A researcher compares depression levels among 20-year-olds, 40-year-olds, and 60-year-olds at one point in time. This is a:

a. Longitudinal study
b. Within-subjects design
c. Cross-sectional study
d. Time-series design

c

A researcher measures participants before treatment, during treatment, and after treatment, with each participant serving as their own comparison. This is a:

a. Between-subjects design
b. Cross-sectional design
c. Experimental-control comparison
d. Within-subjects design

d

Participants in a counseling study become less anxious simply because they naturally mature over several months rather than because of the intervention. This is a threat to:

a. Internal validity (maturation)
b. External validity
c. Statistical conclusion validity
d. Construct validity

a

Halfway through a six-month counseling study, many participants withdraw. This threatens the study's internal validity through:

a. Selection bias
b. Mortality (attrition)
c. History
d. Instrumentation

b

During a treatment study, a highly publicized natural disaster occurs, affecting participants' anxiety levels independent of the intervention. This is an example of the:

a. Maturation threat
b. Instrumentation threat
c. History threat
d. Hawthorne effect

c

A researcher notices that participants begin performing differently simply because they know they are being observed. This is known as the:

a. Placebo effect
b. Novelty effect
c. Experimenter bias
d. Hawthorne effect

d

A researcher unintentionally gives more encouragement to participants in the experimental group than to those in the control group. This is an example of:

a. Experimenter bias
b. Selection bias
c. Statistical regression
d. Attrition

a

A new counseling program appears highly effective during its first month because participants are excited about trying something new. However, the gains gradually disappear over time. This is BEST explained by the:

a. Hawthorne effect
b. Novelty effect
c. Maturation effect
d. Regression effect

b

A researcher categorizes participants according to religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, None). Which level of measurement is being used?

a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio

a

A counseling program ranks clients from highest to lowest satisfaction with treatment. Which level of measurement is represented?

a. Ratio
b. Ordinal
c. Nominal
d. Interval

b

Which variable is measured using an interval scale?

a. Number of counseling sessions attended
b. Weight in pounds
c. Temperature measured in degrees Fahrenheit
d. Marital status

c

Which characteristic distinguishes ratio data from interval data?

a. Equal intervals
b. Numerical values
c. Ability to compare differences
d. A true zero point

d

A researcher compares the number of hours clients slept the night before an exam. Which level of measurement is represented?

a. Ratio
b. Interval
c. Ordinal
d. Nominal

a

A researcher wants every individual in the target population to have an equal chance of being selected for a study. Which sampling method is MOST appropriate?

a. Purposeful sampling
b. Random sampling
c. Cluster sampling
d. Stratified sampling

b

A researcher wants to ensure that equal proportions of men and women are represented in a sample based on their proportions in the population. Which sampling strategy should be used?

a. Random sampling
b. Cluster sampling
c. Proportional stratified sampling
d. Purposeful sampling

c

Rather than selecting individual students, a researcher randomly selects entire classrooms to participate in a study. This is an example of:

a. Random sampling
b. Stratified sampling
c. Purposeful sampling
d. Cluster sampling

d

A qualitative researcher intentionally recruits participants because they possess unique experiences relevant to the research question and has no intention of generalizing findings. Which sampling method is being used?

a. Purposeful sampling
b. Random sampling
c. Stratified sampling
d. Cluster sampling

a

A researcher divides the population into age groups and randomly samples individuals from each group to ensure representation. Which sampling method is being used?

a. Random sampling
b. Stratified sampling
c. Cluster sampling
d. Convenience sampling

b

A researcher predicts that participants receiving CBT will report significantly lower anxiety than participants receiving supportive counseling. This prediction represents the:

a. Null hypothesis
b. Research question
c. Alternative hypothesis
d. Operational definition

c

Which statement BEST describes a null hypothesis?

a. One treatment will outperform another.
b. The researcher expects a significant relationship.
c. The variables are unrelated because of poor measurement.
d. There is no significant difference or relationship between variables.

d

A researcher concludes that a counseling intervention is effective when, in reality, it is not. This is an example of:

a. Type I error
b. Type II error
c. Statistical regression
d. Experimenter bias

a

A researcher fails to detect a real treatment effect and incorrectly concludes that the intervention is ineffective. This is an example of:

a. Type I error
b. Type II error
c. Alpha inflation
d. Sampling error

b

A researcher reports findings that are statistically significant at the .05 level. Which interpretation is MOST accurate?

a. There is a 95% chance the null hypothesis is true.
b. The treatment was effective for every participant.
c. The observed difference was unlikely to have occurred by chance alone.
d. The study is free from all bias.

c

Which statistical test is MOST appropriate for determining whether there is an association between gender (male/female) and preferred counseling modality (individual/group)?

a. Independent samples t-test
b. ANOVA
c. MANOVA
d. Chi-square

d

A researcher wants to compare the average anxiety scores of two independent treatment groups. Which statistical test is MOST appropriate?

a. Independent samples t-test
b. Chi-square
c. ANOVA
d. MANOVA

a

A researcher compares the mean depression scores of clients receiving three different counseling approaches. Which statistical test is MOST appropriate?

a. Chi-square
b. ANOVA
c. t-test
d. ANCOVA

b

A researcher wants to examine the effects of client gender and therapist experience simultaneously on counseling outcomes. Which statistical procedure is MOST appropriate?

a. ANOVA
b. MANOVA
c. Factorial ANOVA
d. t-test

c

A researcher compares two counseling interventions while statistically controlling for participants' baseline depression scores. Which statistical procedure is MOST appropriate?

a. MANOVA
b. Chi-square
c. Independent samples t-test
d. ANCOVA

d

A researcher compares a continuous measure of anxiety with a variable coded as "treatment" or "control." Which correlation coefficient is MOST appropriate?

a. Biserial correlation
b. Pearson correlation
c. Spearman rho
d. Point-biserial ANOVA

a

A researcher presents the relationship between age and counseling satisfaction using a table that displays both variables simultaneously. This is an example of:

a. Meta-analysis
b. Bivariate tabular analysis
c. Cross-sectional analysis
d. Rank-order correlation

b

A researcher begins with an existing theory, develops hypotheses, and collects data to determine whether the theory is supported. This approach is:

a. Inductive reasoning
b. Grounded theory
c. Deductive reasoning
d. Meta-analysis

c

A researcher analyzes interview transcripts from a small group of participants and develops a completely new theory based on emerging themes. Which research approach is being used?

a. Deductive reasoning
b. Experimental research
c. Cross-sectional analysis
d. Grounded theory

d

A researcher predicts that clients receiving CBT will report lower anxiety than clients receiving supportive counseling. This is an example of a:

a. Directional hypothesis
b. Null hypothesis
c. Non-directional hypothesis
d. Alternative hypothesis

a

A researcher predicts that two counseling approaches will produce different outcomes but does not specify which treatment will be superior. This is a:

a. Null hypothesis
b. Non-directional hypothesis
c. Directional hypothesis
d. Deductive hypothesis

b

A researcher wants to prevent both participants and researchers from knowing who receives the active treatment until the study is complete. Which procedure is MOST appropriate?

a. Placebo control
b. Single-blind design
c. Double-blind technique
d. Solomon four-group design

c

A counselor evaluates participant satisfaction throughout the implementation of a new treatment program so adjustments can be made before the program ends. This is an example of:

a. Summative evaluation
b. Outcome evaluation
c. Product evaluation
d. Formative evaluation

d

A school district evaluates a counseling program only after it has been completed to determine whether it should continue funding it. This is an example of:

a. Summative evaluation
b. Formative evaluation
c. Process evaluation
d. Pilot evaluation

a

Which variable represents the outcome that researchers measure?

a. Independent variable
b. Dependent variable
c. Moderator variable
d. Predictor variable

b

A counselor is evaluating whether a new mindfulness intervention reduces anxiety. Which variable is the independent variable?

a. Anxiety scores
b. Participants' age
c. Mindfulness intervention
d. Depression severity

c

A researcher notices that after learning a participant is highly intelligent, they also rate the participant as more socially skilled despite little evidence. This illustrates the:

a. Horn effect
b. Rosenthal effect
c. Observer bias
d. Halo effect

d

A supervisor rates an employee poorly on nearly every category because of one negative first impression. This is an example of the:

a. Horn effect
b. Halo effect
c. Observer bias
d. Leniency effect

a

A researcher unintentionally records observations that support the expected outcome while overlooking contradictory behaviors. This is BEST described as:

a. Rosenthal effect
b. Observer bias
c. Halo effect
d. Demand characteristics

b

A researcher combines the findings of 40 previous studies to determine the overall effectiveness of exposure therapy. This research method is called:

a. Pilot study
b. Grounded theory
c. Meta-analysis
d. Cross-sectional research

c

A researcher wants to determine whether completing a pretest changes participants' responses to the intervention itself. Which design is specifically intended to evaluate this issue?

a. Double-blind design
b. Randomized block design
c. Cross-sectional design
d. Solomon Four-Group Design

d