Reseach & Program Evaluation

Question 1

You are observing a family in their own home for 1 hour per day to determine why the members claim they “do not get along very well.” You will judge the situation to get a feeling about what is really going on. This is most likely:

a) an example of qualitative research
b) an example of quantitative research
c) an example of research that will lead to deductive reasoning
d) a true experiment

Answer 1

a) an example of qualitative research

Question 2

You are a consultant for an elementary school and you are working with a 5th grade teacher who is attempting to improve her teaching in social studies. You should recommend:

a) a true experiment
b) a meta-analysis
c) a single-subject (in this case a student) design
d) action research

Answer 2

d) action research

Question 3

As the consultant for the teacher who will be conducting the action research you will advise her to:

a) analyze the data using a correlation coefficient
b) create a control and an experimental group
c) analyze the data using a t-test
d) none of the above would be necessary

Answer 3

d) none of the above would be necessary

Question 4

You are the executive director of a counseling agency. You are seeking to hire an individual to conduct research on persons with disabilities. Your best choice would most likely be:

a) a social worker who is licensed and served a practicum in a rehabilitation center
b) a CRC
c) an I/O psychologist
d) a counselor with MAC after her name

Answer 4

c) an I/O psychologist

Question 5

Experiments emphasize parsimony, which means:

a) interpreting the results in the simplest way
b) interpreting the results in the most complex manner
c) interpreting the results using a correlation coefficient
d) interpreting the results using a clinical interview

Answer 5

a) interpreting the results in the simplest way

Question 6

Experimenters should always abide by a code of ethics. The variable you manipulate/control in an experiment is the:

a) DV
b) dependent variable
c) the variable you will measure to determine the outcome
d) IV or independent variable

Answer 6

d) IV or independent variable

Question 7

Hypothesis testing is most closely related to the work of:

a) Hoppock
b) Frued
c) Lloyd Morgan
d) R.A. Fisher

Answer 7

d) R.A. Fisher

Question 8

In the social sciences the accepted probability level is usually:

a) .05 or less
b) 1.0 or higher
c) .0001 or less
d) 5.0

Answer 8

a) .05 or less

Question 9

A Type I error occurs when:

a) you have a beta error
b) you accept null when it is false
c) you reject null when it is true
d) you fail to use a test of significance

Answer 9

c) you reject null when it is true

Question 10

A counselor educator decides to increase the sample size in her experiment. This will:

a) confound the experiment in nearly every case
b) raise the probability to Type I and Type II errors
c) have virtually no impact on Type I and Type II errors
d) reduce Type I and Type II errors

Answer 10

d) reduce Type I and Type II errors

Question 11

To complete a t-test you would consult a tabled value of t. In order to see if significant differences exist in a ANOVA you would:

a) consult the mode
b) consult a table for t values
c) consult a table for F values
d) compute the chi-square

Answer 11

c) consult a table for F values

Question 12

Which of the following would most likely yield a perfect correlation of 1.00?

a) IQ and salary
b) ICD diagnosis and salary
c) length in inches and length in centimeters
d) height and weight

Answer 12

c) length in inches and length in centimeters

Question 13

A good guess would be that if you would correlate the length of CACREP graduates’ baby toes with their NCE scores the result would:

a) be close to 0.00
b) be close to a perfect 1.00
c) be close to a perfect negative correlation of -1.00
d) be about +.70

Answer 13

a) be close to 0.00

Question 14

In a basic curve or so-called frequency polygon the point of maximum concentration is the:

a) mean
b) median
c) mode
d) range

Answer 14

c) mode

Question 15

Regardless of the shape, the _____ will always be the high point when a distribution is displayed graphically:

a) df
b) mean
c) median
d) mode

Answer 15

d) mode

Question 16

Nina of the world’s finest counselor educators are given an elementary exam on counseling theory. The distribution of scores would most likely be:

a) a bell-shaped curve
b) positively skewed
c) negatively skewed
d) more information wold be necessary

Answer 16

c) negatively skewed

Question 17

A distribution with class intervals can be graphically displayed via a bar graph also called a:

a) histogram
b) sociogram
c) genogram
d) genus

Answer 17

a) histogram

Question 18

When a horizontal line is drawn under a frequency distribution it is known as:

a) mesokurtic
b) the y axis
c) the ordinate
d) the x axis

Answer 18

d) the x axis

Question 19

A sociogram is to a counseling group as a scattergram is to:

a) the normal curve
b) the range
c) a correlation coefficient
d) the John Henry Effect

Answer 19

c) a correlation coefficient

Question 20

A platykurtic distribution would look approximately like:

a) the upper half of a bowling ball
b) the normal distribution
c) the upper half of a hot dog, lying on its side over the abscissa
d) a camel’s back

Answer 20

c) the upper half of a hot dog, lying on its side over the abscissa

Question 21

Researchers often utilize naturalistic observation when doing ethological investigations or studying children’s behavior. In this approach:

a) the researcher manipulates the IV
b) the researcher manipulates the IV and DV
c) the researcher does not manipulate or control variables
d) the researcher will rely on a 2x3 factorial design

Answer 21

c) the researcher does not manipulate or control variables

Question 22

A panel of investigators discovered that a research who completed a major study had unconsciously rated attractive females as better counselors. This is an example of:

a) the Hawthorne effect
b) the Halo effect
c) the Rosenthal effect
d) trend analysis

Answer 22

b) the Halo effect

Question 23

Switching the order in which stimuli are presented to a subject in a study is known as:

a) the Pygmalion effect
b) counterbalancing
c) ahistoric therapy
d) multiple treatment interference

Answer 23

b) counterbalancing

Question 24

A researcher wants to run a true experiment but insists she will not use a random sample. You could safely say that:

a) she absolutely, positively cannot run a true experiment
b) her research will absolutely, positively be casual comparative research
c) she could accomplish this using systematic sampling
d) her research will be correlational

Answer 24

c) she could accomplish this using systematic sampling

Question 25

A researcher studies a single session of counseling in which a counselor treats a client’s phobia using a paradoxical strategy. He then writes in his research report that paradox is the treatment of choice for phobics. This is an example of:

a) deductive logic or reasoning
b) inductive logic or reasoning
c) attrition or so-called experimental mortality
d) construct validity

Answer 25

b) inductive logic or reasoning

Question 26

Occam’s Razor suggests that experimenter:

a) interpret the results in the simplest manner
b) interpret the results in the most complex manner
c) interpret the results using a correlation co-efficient
d) interpret the results using a clinical interview

Answer 26

a) interpret the results in the simplest manner

Question 27

An experiment is said to be confounded when:

a) undesirable variables are not kept out of the experiment
b) undesirable variables are kept out of the experiment
c) basic research is used in place of applied research
d) the sample is random

Answer 27

a) undesirable variables are not kept out of the experiment

Question 28

In experimental terminology IV stands for _____ and DV stands for _______.

a) independent variable; dependent variable
b) dependent variable; independent variable
c) individual variable; dependent variable
d) independent variable; designer variable

Answer 28

a) independent variable; dependent variable

Question 29

When you see the letter P in relation to a test of significance it means:

a) portion
b) population parameter
c) probability
d) the researcher is using an ethnographic qualitative approach

Answer 29

c) probability

Question 30

A counselor believes that clients who receive assertiveness training will ask more questions in counseling classes. An experimental group receives assertiveness training while a control group does not. In order to test for significant differences between the groups the counselor should utilize:

a) the student’s t-test
b) a correlation coefficient
c) a survey
d) an analysis of variance of ANOVA

Answer 30

a) the student’s t-test

Question 31

In a new study the clients do not know whether they are receiving an experimental treatment for depression or whether they are simply part of the control group. This is, nevertheless, known to the researcher. Thus, this is a :

a) double-blind study
b) single-blind study
c) baseline for an intensive N=1 design
d) participant observe model

Answer 31

b) single-blind study

Question 32

In a normal curve the mean, the median, and the mode all fall precisely in the middle of the curve. From a graphical standpoint the so-called normal or Gaussian curve (named after the astronomer/mathematician K. F. Gauss) looks like:

a) a symmetrical bell
b) the top half of a bowling ball
c) the top half of a hot dog
d) a mountain which is leaning toward the left

Answer 32

a) a symmetrical bell

Question 33

The most useful measure of central tendency is the:

a) mean often abbreviated by an X with a bar over it
b) median often abbreviated by Md. or Mdn.
c) mode often abbreviated by Mo.
d) point of maximum concentration

Answer 33

a) mean often abbreviated by an X with a bar over it

Question 34

In a career counseling session an electrical engineer mentions 3 jobs he has held. The first paid $10 per hour, the second paid $30 per hour, and the third paid a higher rate of $50 per hour. The counselor responds that the client is averaging $30 per hour. The counselor is using:

a) a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
b) a factorial design
c) the harmonic mean
d) the mean

Answer 34

d) the mean

Question 35

In World War II the Air Force used stanine score as a measurement. Stanine scores divide the distribution into 9 equal intervals with stanine 1 as the lowest ninth and 9 as the highest ninth. In this system 5 is the man. Thus, a Binet IQ score of 101 would fall in stanine:

a) 1
b) 9
c) 5
d) 7

Answer 35

c) 5

Question 36

The WAIS-III IQ test is given to 100 adults, who were picked randomly. How many of the adults most likely would receive an IQ score between 85 and 115?

a) 7 people
b) 99 people
c) 96 people
d) 68 people

Answer 36

d) 68 people

Question 37

Mike takes a math achievement test. In order to predict his score if he takes the test again the counselor must know:

a) the range of scores in his class
b) the standard deviation
c) the standard error of measurement (SEM)
d) the mode for the test

Answer 37

c) the standard error of measurement (SEM)