midterm study guide

What is the S-P model?

the science-practitioner model is a training framework in psychology that requires professionals to integrate scientific research methods with clinical application

How does the S-P model help researchers understand behavior?

The scientist-practitioner model helps researchers and clinicians understand behavior by combining empirical scientific methods with real-world clinical practice, ensuring that research informs treatment and practical observations generate new scientific question

What does evidence-based mean in counseling?

a focus of practice and training, it is important to consider the scientist-practitioner (SP) model as a way to bring the subjective experiences of therapy and the objective evidence of science closer, leading to more effective treatment and thereby saving money

Why is evidence-based practice important for counselors?

it blends scientific research, clinical skill, and client values to provide safe, ethical, and effective treatment

What is research?

is a systematic investigation that involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information in a sequential manner to increase our understanding of the phenomenon of interest.

Why do counselors conduct research?

research informs the profession and enhances your ability to use best-practice methods.

How can research improve counseling practice?

grounding clinical decisions in empirical evidence rather than intuition or subjective judgment alone

What is a hypothesis?

is a tentative or potential answer to the proposed research question that is informed by existing literature and understanding of the problem.

What makes a good research hypothesis?

a clear, testable, and specific prediction about the relationship between variables

What is the difference between a null hypothesis and a research/alternative hypothesis?

A null hypothesis states that there is no effect or relationship between variables, while an alternative (research) hypothesis states that a real effect or relationship does exist

What is sampling, and why is it necessary?

is a means of identifying and selecting a portion of the total population. Sampling is the process of selecting a smaller, manageable group from a larger target population to study and draw accurate conclusions

What is a population?

the entire group of people, animals, objects, or events that a researcher wants to study and draw conclusions about

Simple Random Sampling

Every individual has an equal and independent chance of being chosen, like drawing names from a hat.

Systematic Sampling

Participants are chosen from a list at fixed regular intervals (e.g., every 10th person).

Stratified Sampling

The population is divided into distinct subgroups (strata), and random samples are taken from each group.

Cluster Sampling

The population is split into natural groups (clusters like cities or schools), and entire clusters are randomly selected

Convenience Sampling

Participants are chosen based on easy accessibility and willingness to take part.

Purposive (Judgment) Sampling

The researcher intentionally selects individuals with specific characteristics relevant to the study.

Snowball Sampling

Existing study participants recruit future participants from among their acquaintances.

Quota Sampling

The population is divided by characteristics, and a specific number of people are picked to meet a set quota

What is the difference between random sampling and non-random sampling?

Random sampling gives every member of a population an equal and known chance of being chosen, while non-random sampling selects participants based on the researcher's judgment, convenience, or other non-probability criteria

Why might a researcher choose one sampling method over another?

based on their research goals, available resources, and the need to generalize results to a broader population

How can sampling affect the ability to generalize research findings?

directly determines whether research findings can be generalized (extended) to a broader population or different settings

What is quantitative research?

a structured method for collecting and analyzing numerical data to find patterns, test hypotheses, and generalize results to larger groups

What is qualitative research?

a scientific method used to gather and analyze non-numerical data—such as words, images, and audio—to understand how people experience and make sense of their world

What are the major differences between quantitative and qualitative research?

qualitative research focuses on words, meanings, and experiences to answer "why" and "how," while quantitative research focuses on numbers and statistics to answer "how many" and "how often"

What types of data are typically collected in quantitative research?

Typically collects numerical data that can be counted, measured, and analyzed using statistical methods. (discrete data, continuous data, categorical data with numerical coding, ordinal data, surveys and questionnaires, experiments, structured observations)

What types of data are typically collected in qualitative research?

typically collects non-numerical data such as words, images, behaviors, and audio recordings that capture descriptions, thoughts, feelings, and meanings (transcripts and audio/video recordings, field notes and observation logs, textual and visual documents, open-ended survey responses, visual and digital media)

Can a study use both quantitative and qualitative methods? What is this called?

Yes, a study can use both quantitative and qualitative methods, and this approach is called mixed-methods research

What are descriptive statistics?

are used to explain the basic characteristics of study data, including describing the numbers and what they show. help us to simplify large amounts of data by providing a summary that may enable comparisons across people or other units.

What are inferential statistics?

are used to make inferences from the sample data to the population.

What is the purpose of descriptive statistics?

to summarize, organize, and simplify large amounts of complex data so it becomes easy to understand and interpret

What is the purpose of inferential statistics?

to take data from a small, representative group (sample) and use it to make valid guesses, predictions, or generalizations about a much larger group (population)

What is a research question?

is the general question that guides the direction of the research. It defines the relationship between what you want to know and how you intend to obtain this knowledge through research.

What makes a research question good?

clear, focused, complex, and possible to investigate using credible data or sources

What is the difference between a research question and a hypothesis?

A research question is an open-ended inquiry that guides a study, while a hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction of the expected outcome

Why are ethics important when conducting research?

protects participants, ensures scientific integrity, and builds public trust

What responsibilities does a researcher have toward participants?

informed consent, minimizing risk, protecting privacy and confidentiality, equitable selection, and ongoing duty of care

What is informed consent?

Consent form that can be clearly understood by those agreeing to join the study. The researcher has a responsibility to share with the participants the manner in which data will be collected, coded, stored, analyzed, and disseminated to protect the privacy of the individuals agreeing to take part in the research.

What does it mean for participation in research to be voluntary?

Volunteerism is yet another major source of sampling bias. As is true for all research, participation is voluntary. Those who volunteer are qualitatively different from those who refuse. Volunteers may, for instance, have a personal interest in the topic, a connection to the topic, or a general desire to contribute to research.

Why is confidentiality important in research?

protects participants, builds trust, improves data quality, upholds ethics and laws

What should a researcher do if participation could potentially harm a participant?

A researcher must follow the ethical principle of non-maleficence (do no harm) by minimizing risks, protecting participant autonomy, and providing immediate support if distress occurs

What are the three Belmont Principles?

Respect for Persons, Beneficence, and Justice

What does respect for persons mean?

an ethical principle stating that all individuals possess inherent dignity and moral worth, and therefore must be treated as autonomous agents rather than mere tools

What does beneficence mean?

the ethical principle of acting for the benefit of others

What does justice mean?

the quality of being fair, morally right, and impartial, or the legal system used to judge and punish crimes

Why were the Belmont Principles developed?

to protect human subjects in medical and behavioral research following a history of severe research abuses and unethical experiments

What is research integrity?

is defined as “a commitment to intellectual honesty and personal responsibility” and “adherence to rules, regulations, guidelines, and commonly accepted professional codes or norms”

What is research misconduct?

means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, reviewing, or reporting research results

What is fabrication?

in research is the intentional act of making up data or results and recording or reporting them as if they were real

What is falsification?

the act of changing something to deceive people, or the act of proving that a theory or claim is false

What is plagiarism?

the act of using another person's words, ideas, data, or methods without giving proper credit and presenting them as your own

Why is accurately reporting research results important?

ensures scientific integrity, enables study replication, and prevents faulty decision-making in vital fields like healthcare and public policy

What should a researcher do if the results don't support their hypothesis?

If experimental results do not support a hypothesis, a researcher should analyze the data objectively, report the findings honestly, and revise the hypothesis or design new tests

What made the Tuskegee Syphilis Study unethical?

Scientific Racism, Deception & Lack of Consent, Withholding the Standard of Care, Collateral Harm, Institutional Failure

What was unethical about the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Severe Psychological Harm, Dual-Role Conflict, Denial of Right to Withdraw, Invalid Informed Consent, Coached Abuse & Demand Characteristics

What was unethical about the Milgram obedience studies?

Severe Psychological Distress, Extreme Deception, Coerced Right to Withdraw, Inadequate Debriefing, Self-Knowledge Trauma

How did unethical historical research contribute to modern research protections?

directly driving the creation of modern international codes, federal laws, and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

What is an IRB (Institutional Review Board)?

an administrative committee that reviews and approves research involving human subjects to protect their rights, safety, and welfare

What is the purpose of an IRB?

to protect the rights, safety, and welfare of human subjects participating in research studies

What types of research generally require IRB review?

any systematic investigation involving human subjects that is designed to contribute to generalizable knowledge

What does an IRB consider when reviewing a research proposal?

the belmont report, Risk minimization, risk-benefit ratio, equitable selection, informed consent, date safety monitoring, vulnerable populations

Why is IRB approval important?

legal and regulatory mandate, credibility and publication, ethical compliance, informed consent, participant protection

What might cause an IRB to require changes to a study?

Protocol Deviations or Unanticipated Problems

What is a primary source?

A piece of work that is considered the original report of research providing firsthand information on the topic or that is the first published account

What is a secondary source?

How can you tell whether a source is primary or secondary?

Why might a researcher use both primary and secondary sources?

Why are headings used in academic/research writing?

What information should a good heading communicate?

What is a nominal variable?

What is an ordinal variable?

What is an interval variable?

What is a ratio variable?

What is the difference between nominal and ordinal variables?

What is the difference between interval and ratio variables?

Which level of measurement has a true zero?

Which level of measurement allows meaningful multiplication/division?

What is an independent variable (IV)?

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

What is a constant?

What is an extraneous variable?

What is a confounding variable?

What is the difference between an extraneous variable and a confounding variable?

91. Identify the IV and DV:

A researcher wants to determine whether the number of counseling sessions affects anxiety scores.

What variables should be held constant in an experiment?

What is the difference between a categorical variable and a numerical variable?

What does it mean to operationalize a variable?

Why do researchers need to operationalize variables?

Why might two researchers operationalize the same concept differently?

What problems can occur if a variable isn't clearly operationalized?

What is bias in research?

What is internal validity?

What is external validity?

What is the difference between internal and external validity?

What is a history effect?

What is a maturation effect?

What is a testing effect?

What is an instrumentation effect?

What is mortality/attrition in research?