Case Study

Kara and John are Asian American high school seniors who have just found out she is pregnant. They have not told their parents yet. Kara wants to keep her baby, but John is not sure how he feels. Kara’s family are Buddhists, and John’s family claims no religion. They have both been planning to attend college out of state next year. They would like a counselor to include their families in providing counseling support.

Instructors 

Title Page: Include a Running head and page numbers in the header. The Running head is an abbreviated title for your paper (for example, if the paper title was Multiculturally Sensitive Counseling Case Study, the left header might be: Running head: CASE STUDY). Page numbers begin on the title page in the right header (number only). Centered on the title page, between the top and middle of the page, is the Paper Title, Your Name, and Liberty University (no other information). Use Times New Roman, 12 point font for academic papers.

The title of the paper is repeated on the first page of the body of your paper. Center and do not bold the paper title. Begin your paper with a brief introductory paragraph where you explain what you plan to cover in your paper, and why it is important (there is no heading for the introduction). An abstract is not required for this assignment. The body of the paper must be 5-7 pages for full credit. Use the following headings for sections in your paper.

Local Community Resources and Supports

Research at least two local agencies that would be good resources for the client(s) you are assisting. Summarize what services each resource provides, explain any associated costs, describe the intake requirements and process, and explain how these agencies could be useful in supporting the client(s) you are working with, with emphasis on cultural sensitivity. This is an opportunity for you to explore and learn more about local resources that are sensitive to meeting multicultural needs. This section should be 2 pages (1 page per resource).

Cultural Research

If you were the counselor or human services professional working with these clients, consider what research you would want to do in preparation. Use at least three peer-reviewed journal articles dated within the last 5 years in this section. Look for current, relevant research to increase your knowledge of culture and techniques that would improve your multicultural sensitivity in working with these specific clients. This section should be approximately 2-3 pages.

Reflection

This is your opportunity to reflect on what you discovered while researching for local resources and supports, and while doing cultural research. How multiculturally sensitive did you find your community and religious supports? Did the process of researching resources and literature better prepare you for addressing cultural needs? Do you think you could potentially experience any biases or limitations in working with these clients? This section should be approximately ½-1 page.

Conclusion

End with a brief conclusion paragraph where you summarize what you covered in your paper, and comment on what additional research you believe is necessary relevant to the cultural topics you explored.

References

After you conclude your paper, begin the references on a new page. Center (do not bold) the References heading at the top of the page. You need at least 3 peer-reviewed journal articles dated within the past 5 years, in an alphabetized list. Every source that you include in the references should be cited in your paper. Double-space. You may also include our course textbook as an additional source.

Discussion: Confounding Variables

Internal validity in a research study is the extent to which changes in the dependent variable can confidently be attributed to the influence of the independent variable rather than to possible confounding variables. In other words, was it really the independent variable that had an effect on the dependent variable or did something else cause the effect?

For example, presume that an instructor wants to try a new reading efficiency strategy to improve reading comprehension of college students in an online course. The instructor divides the class into two equal groups. One group (the experimental group) reads a passage using the new reading strategy taught by the instructor. The other group (the control group) reads the same passage but is not exposed to the new strategy. Next, both groups of students complete a reading comprehension test. The assumption is that if the group exposed to the new reading strategy scored higher than the other group, the new reading strategy is effective.

What else could explain the difference in scores? Is it possible that the students enrolled in the group that learned the new strategy already had high reading comprehension skills? What if this group already knew more about the information in the reading passage? Could the instructor have inadvertently biased the study because he taught the new reading strategy, and he selected the reading passages that both groups read?

Possible situations, or reasons, that could interfere with obtaining accurate results are called confounds, and could be a threat to the internal validity of a study. It is important to keep in mind though, that the presence of a possible confounding variable in a study does not necessarily mean it is responsible for obtained results. Rather, the independent variable (e.g., the reading intervention) may have actually had an effect on the dependent variable (the test results).

In this Discussion, you will examine possible confounding variable(s) in research studies from your course textbook and apply methodology for addressing and/or eliminating the possible confound(s).

To prepare:

• Read Chapter 12 in your course text.
• Read the “Thinking Critically About Research” scenarios (a—i) in Chapter 12, pages 256–258.
• Choose the scenario that most interests you. Note: Before selecting a scenario, view the Discussion 4 Forum to see if any colleagues have already posted. If so, select a letter that has not yet been chosen. All nine (a–i) letters should addressed before a student repeats a letter.

For your chosen scenario, determine the possible confounding variable(s) (there may be more than one), and consider how they might be eliminated using research designs presented in the readings (e.g., 2×2 factorial design).

Note: You can assume that random assignment took care of any potential differences in the groups; therefore, group differences are not a potential confound.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

1. Indicate the letter of the scenario you selected in the “Subject” field of your post. You should be addressing a scenario different from those posted, unless your colleagues have already addressed all nine scenarios. Identify and explain the possible confounding variable(s) (e.g., demand characteristics, placebo effect) in your chosen scenario.
2. Drawing from the Learning Resources this week, explain a specific research design (e.g., 2×2 factorial design, repeated measures design) the researcher(s) could use to control for confounding variables.

Note: Be sure to support the responses within your Discussion post, and in your colleague reply, with evidence from the assigned Learning Resources.