Assignment Code: MCFT-005/TMA-5/ASST-5/2021-22

Course Code: MCFT-005

Assignment Name: Counselling and Family Therapy: Research Methods and Statistics

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Maximum Marks: 100

Note:

(i) Answer all the questions in both sections.

(ii) Answers to questions of Section “A” should not exceed 300 words each.

Section A – Descriptive Questions

(10x6=60 marks)

1) Why is it important to conduct research in the field of family therapy? (10)

Ans) Counseling may be considered as a unique form of helpful relationship, a set of activities and approaches, or a designating an area in which services are offered, among other things. Despite the fact that counselling is a key intervention that focuses on the needs of the less disturbed, there has recently been a focus on developmental and preventive therapy as opposed to corrective work. Listening, comprehending, and communicating abilities are all important in counselling "being aware of a pupil's or client's developmental state, needs, and feelings

In counselling and family therapy, research plays a critical role in resolving numerous operational and planning issues. Social scientists need research to examine social relationships and provide solutions to various social problems. Various research domains for effective counselling and family therapy interventions include the impact of counsellor qualities on the counselling session, the role of family members in effective psychoeducation, the role of family therapy in the therapeutic process, and the use of cognitive behaviour family therapy in quitting smoking, among others. By offering information and practical utility, research brings intellectual satisfaction to scientists.

Research in counselling and family therapy can be defined as any systematic attempt to comprehend a complex phenomenon of more than immediate personal concern expressed in a problematic form, prompted by a need or a challenge. It is any research, survey, or study aimed at correcting, verifying, or adding to knowledge in these subjects in general or in specific areas. With this in mind, the ultimate purpose of such a science is to supply knowledge that allows the counsellor to attain the goal in the most efficient manner possible.

In family therapy, an ecological perspective is gaining traction. Ecology is concerned with the environment "Relationships between species and their environments, as well as their interaction and interdependence. When five or six families from various origins meet in a multifamily counselling setting, cultural differences are brought together. It is becoming increasingly apparent that there should be a strong connection between school and home, as well as between parents and instructors. Parent-teacher associations have been founded for this purpose. There is a strong belief that there is a true need for study in the areas of counselling and parent-child relationships. Day by day, the expanding scope and need for counselling and family therapy interventions, as well as research in this area, is being identified.

2) Discuss advantages and disadvantages of questionnaire method. (10)

Ans) The advantages and disadvantages of questionnaire method are:

Advantages of Questionnaire Method

1. Data collection is easier and faster. This strategy can generate a big volume of data in a short amount of time.

2. Direct answers are possible.

3. he data that is received is quantitative. It is possible to obtain both quantitative and qualitative responses. Background information on the respondents could be gathered, which would otherwise be impossible to get.

   
   

4. It is possible to obtain empirical data.

5. It is economical.

6. A huge population's response can be received over a large geographical area.

7. The educated populace can create a high rate of response.

8.  Before answering the questionnaire, respondents have the opportunity to prepare and edit their responses.

9. Researchers might also use the pretest to make changes to the final questionnaire.

10. Responses are simple to tabulate and analyse.

11. The questionnaire method allows respondents to openly express their opinions on any given issue.

12. A questionnaire has a predetermined format and quantity of questions. This reduces the amount of variety in the questioning process.

Limitations of Questionnaire Method

1. It's difficult to get a good response rate. People have a bad tendency of not filling out forms and not returning them on time.

2. Data reliability can be questioned.

3. It's impossible to know whether or not someone is telling the truth.

4. Preparation, pretest, revision, distribution, and sending reminders are all time-consuming activities that increase to the time and cost of data collecting.

5. Incomplete responses can also cause issues during the analysis stage.

6. At the time of filling out the questionnaire, the researcher is unable to witness the respondents' reactions.

7. The questions could be misinterpreted, which would have an impact on the analysis.

8. The researchers' assumptions about certain items may differ from the respondents' perceptions.

9. Respondents may be confused by technical jargon or professional vocabulary. It's likely that the questionnaire will be returned with a large number of questions unanswered.

10. Poor results are also obtained when questions are phrased in a convoluted manner.

11. It's possible that the questionnaire is skewed in some way. Due to the researcher's lopsided bias, it may not have included certain essential questions that would have been highly informative otherwise.

12. It may be difficult to verify the accuracy of the responses acquired via questionnaires.

13. Receiving poorly written questionnaires may discourage potential responses.

3) Explain briefly the features of a good research design. (10)

Ans) Adjectives like adaptable, appropriate, efficient, and economical are frequently used to describe good design. In general, a good design is one that minimises bias and increases the reliability of the data collected and processed. In many studies, the design with the minimum experimental error is thought to be the best design. In many research situations, a design that gives the most information and allows for the consideration of many distinct elements of a topic is regarded the most appropriate and efficient design.

The following factors are frequently considered when developing a study strategy for a specific research problem:

1. The means of obtaining information;

2. The availability and skills of the researcher and the staff, if any;

3. The objective of the problem to be studied;

4. The nature of the problem to be studied; and

5. The availability of time and money for the research work.

If the research study is exploratory or formulative, with the primary focus on the discovery of new ideas and insights, such as counselling parents of children with special needs, the research design must be flexible enough to allow for the consideration of many various facets of the phenomena. However, when the goal of a study is to provide an accurate description of a situation or of a relationship between variables (in what are known as descriptive studies), accuracy becomes a major factor, and a research design that minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the evidence collected is considered a good design.

4) What are the common features of different kinds of qualitative studies? (10)

Ans) The common features of different kinds of qualitative studies are:

Biographical Study - Main Features:

The study of an individual and his or her experiences as told to the researcher or found in other sources is known as a biographical study. Biographies are given from a variety of angles, including literary, historical, anthropological, sociological, pedagogical, psychological, and interdisciplinary approaches. The focus of biography continues to be on narrating and inscribing other people's stories. It delves into life's history, such as accounts of key achievements. Individual biographies, autobiography, life history, and oral history are all terms used to describe biographical research. In all of these circumstances, the researchers must maintain objectivity in their communication while interpreting the data. It must be written in an academic manner, with a thorough understanding of the subject's history and chronological organisation. The account must be presented in an artistic style, with information provided in a vibrant and entertaining manner.

Phenomenological Study - Main Features:

The goal of phenomenological research is to describe the meaning of several persons' living experiences with a concept or phenomenon. The researcher is stated to examine the structures of consciousness in human experiences using a phenomenological approach. The outer appearance and internal consciousness based on memory image and meaning are both present in these experiences.

Grounded Theory Study - Main Features:

Theory is discovered in this case in the context of a specific scenario. This is a situation in which a group of people interacts, acts, or engages in a process in response to a phenomena. The goal of the study is to see how people act and react to a situation. The I procedure involved in data gathering can be through continuous visits to the field, interviews with participants, in-depth observations of activities etc. The researcher creates and connects information categories, as well as writing theoretical statements or hypotheses.

Ethnography - Main Features:

The researcher employs ethnography to investigate the meanings of the culture sharing group's behaviour, language, and relationships. For example, ethnography can be used to study the educational procedures of a particular tribe or a rural hamlet, as well as the cultural and behavioural interactions that occur during those processes. As a result, the researcher produces a report that resembles a book.

Case Study - Main Features:

To help his subjects solve their personality difficulties, Freud used the case study technique. The nature of a case inquiry is exploratory. It entails gathering thorough, in-depth information from a variety of sources about all relevant facets of a case. A case can alternatively be understood as a unique and bounded system. This implies that the case under inquiry is constrained by time and location. A case's uniqueness relates to its distinguishing traits, such as a high-quality institution or an ashram school, a specific programme or course of study, a university, or an innovation, for example. The researcher strives to learn as much as possible about what happens and how it happens. Observations, interviews, audio-visual recordings, documents, records, and other sources are among the many available.

5) List the situations when we compute range and average deviation. (10)

Ans) Compute range and average deviation:

The Range

The range is the most basic indicator of variability. The difference between the highest and lowest observation or score is the difference between the highest and lowest observation or score.

Assume that a group of ten twins received the following scores on a test of interest:

90, 80, 72, 71, 70, 70, 69, 68, 60, 50

The range for this distribution will be (90-50) = 40

Selection and Application of Range:

Although the range has the advantage of being simple to compute, it has several drawbacks. For starters, the range value is based on only two "extreme scores" in the whole distribution, therefore it does not give us with any information about the fluctuation of other distribution scores. Second, it is not a consistent statistic because its value varies from sample to sample within the same population. When the data is too sparse or scattered, and all that is needed is a sense of extreme scores or entire spread, the range is utilised.

Standard Deviation (SD)

The standard deviation (SD) is the most widely used and consistent measure of variability. It's the variance's positive square root. The variance, which is commonly represented as V, is the average of the squared departures of the measures or scores from their mean.

The ungrouped standard deviation is calculated using the formula:

SD = σ = √ ∑x2 / N

in which,

x = Deviation of the raw score or measure from the Mean.

N = Number of scores or measures.

To illustrate the use of this formula, let us consider the data:

15, 10, 15, 20, 8, 10, 25, 9

The mean or average score is:

M = ∑x / N = 112 / 8 = 14

Now we subtract the mean from each of -the raw in the distribution an proceed as under:

Using the formula:

Standard Deviation = σ = √ ∑x2 / N = 252 / 8 = √ 31.8 = 5.64

We can also compute standard deviation directly from the raw scores without using the deviation with the help of the formula:

Standard Deviation = σ = √ N∑x2 – (∑x)2 / N

In which,

x = Raw score

N = The number of score in the distribution.

Standard Deviation = σ = √ N∑x2 – (∑x)2 / N

= √ 8)(1820) -(112)2 / 8

= √ 14560 – 12544 / 8

= √ 2016 / 8

= √ 44.90 / 8

= 5.612

The formula for computing standard deviation for the grouped data is:

S. D. = σ i/N √ N∑fx2 – (∑fx’)2

in which

i = length of the class interval

N = total number of measures or scores

x = deviation of the raw score from the assumed mean divided by the length of the class interval.

To illustrate the use of this formula let us consider the data for calculation S.D.

Using the formula:

S. D. = σ i/N √ N∑fx2 - (∑fx’)2

= 4/65 √ (65)(256) - (-42)2

= 4/65 √ 16640 - 1764

= 4/65 √ 14876

= 7.51

Selection and Application of Standard Deviation (σ)

When the most stable statistics are sought, extreme deviations have a proportionally bigger effect on the variability, and the coefficient of correlation and other statistics are then computed, standard deviation is utilised.

6) Discuss types of research reports and its need. (10)

Ans) The types of research reports:

Research Articles

The goal of research papers is to enlighten readers about what you examined, why and how you conducted it, as well as the findings and conclusions. Typically, these articles are summaries of empirical research. Articles that are either reviews or theoretical articles.

Abstracts

An abstract is a detailed overview of the contents of an article or thesis/dissertation that has been submitted for review. It enables the audience or readers to quickly scan the contents of a journal article or research paper. These abstracts are one of the most essential reference aids for researchers, keeping them up to date on work being done in their own fields as well as related fields.

Thesis and Dissertation

A thesis or dissertation is a written record of a researcher's work. It is frequently written as part of a course/or program's an advanced degree's requirements, and it entails presenting a research problem with an argument or point of view. The methods or procedures used are supported by evidence and reasoned argument. Apart from reporting the outcomes/findings, this is intended to share the challenges and concerns related to a specific study problem with fellow researchers, supported by conversations. This record has been presented to an institution's examining committee for the purpose of awarding the student a degree.

Committee members, fellow scholars, peer groups, and teachers are among the readers. The universities that award the authors their doctoral and master's degrees normally save these reports in the form of theses and dissertations. These research works are occasionally published in educational periodicals or journals in whole or in part. Because many research projects' findings are never published, a careful examination of the annual list of theses and dissertations published by various bodies is required for a comprehensive review of the research literature.

Project Reports

Through an institution, public and commercial research funding bodies sponsor research initiatives for an individual or a team or group of researchers. These organisations ask researchers seeking financial assistance to complete a project to submit a research proposal at the start and a project report at the end/or after completion of the study within a certain time frame. The final report of a research project supported by an agency is a written document sent to the funding agency by the researcher. It could be in the form of a professional journal article. The content and structure of a project report and academic theses may resemble each other. The duration of these study reports may vary. When writing a project report, it's important to keep the audience in mind. A scientific or general report, for example, is written in accordance with the project's theme and intended audience.

Section B - Short Answer/Objective Type Questions

(40 Marks)

1. Write short notes (in about 150 words each) on the following: (5x8=40 marks)

i) Deductive reasoning

Ans) Reasoning is, by definition, a mental process. When it comes to obtaining accurate knowledge, humans use reasoning. They use the faculty of thinking to try to understand the world around them. Deductive and inductive reasoning are the two types of reasoning. Deductive reasoning is a kind of reasoning that involves moving from broad to specific claims using logical reasons. Deductive reasoning is based on the syllogism, which was a major contribution to formal logic by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. A syllogism consists of a major premise based on an a priori or self-evident concept, a minor premise offering a specific instance, and a conclusion in its most basic form.

We employ deductive logic to solve challenges in both our personal and professional lives. In their professional employment, lawyers, surgeons, soldiers, and detectives frequently use deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning has always been used by researchers to complete particular tasks in their research. Facts collected through observation and experiment would be useless without deduction since they would not fit into deductive systems known as sciences.

ii) Phenomenology

Ans) Phenomenology is a philosophical perspective that supports the study of direct experience in its broadest sense. It is concerned with the interpretation of human behaviour. Edmund Husserl founded phenomenology as a philosophical movement. Its fundamental goal is to give philosophy a solid foundation that will allow it to function as a pure, autonomous discipline free of all assumptions. Its approach is primarily descriptive, with the goal of revealing the fundamental structures of purpose, consciousness, and the life-world. One of the two fundamental principles of phenomenology that has piqued the curiosity of many social scientists, including psychologists, is the idea of a life-world of 'lived-experience,' which is always taken-for-granted even by empirical sciences.

Critics have contended, however, that when phenomenological notions are translated from their own domain to the setting of social science, their meaning is drastically altered. In a broader sense, we might claim that phenomenology has influenced the researchers' understanding of notions and their analysis in reality. One key element to remember about students' learning styles is that they are influenced by their perceptions of the course, the teacher, and the learning environment. A surface method has continuously met a variety of constructs such as severe workload, didactic teaching, content-oriented evaluation, and a fact-filled curriculum.

iii) Bias Minimization

Ans) Researchers might readily add bias into their findings by unintentional or subconscious techniques, or impair the validity of their methodologies in other ways. Many of the techniques employed aim to reduce this prejudice. The research subjects may also introduce their own prejudice, such as Social Desirability Bias. What is communicated to them and what they comprehend may differ, necessitating careful thought, even if this raises ethical difficulties.

The propensity to grade personnel based on socially (or in this case organizationally) desirable achievements or attributes rather than objective performance criteria is known as social desirability bias in selection or performance assessment. If a manager is extremely goal-oriented, for example, his or her superiors may give him or her higher scores on interpersonal leadership behaviours than they should because they are influenced by the manager's ability to bring in contracts and generate profit, thereby achieving desired task-related goals.

iv) Cross-validation

Ans) The process of validating a test using a population sample other than the one on which it was originally standardised is referred to as this phrase. Because of random circumstances that produce a larger or lower correlation than intended, the initial validity data may be too high or low at times. In fact, by doing so, we are repeatedly checking validity. A test is constantly cross-validated when it is used in a variety of contexts and by a range of people. Its use should be discontinued if it does not provide great value. Cross-validation is a resampling method that tests and trains a model using various chunks of the data on successive rounds. It's most commonly employed in situations when the goal is prediction and the user wants to know how well a predictive model will perform in practise.

v) Abstract

Ans) An abstract is a detailed overview of the contents of an article or thesis/dissertation that has been submitted for review. It enables the audience or readers to quickly scan the contents of a journal article or research paper. These abstracts are one of the most essential reference aids for researchers, keeping them up to date on work being done in their own fields as well as related fields. The breadth of a research piece is communicated through an abstract. It also gives a condensed version of an issue for the readers or audience to discuss. It fosters scholarly debate about a particular scientific problem. It assists researchers in identifying concerns while reading abstracts from published articles that are relevant to their research. In other words, a good summary summarises the important points from each of the report's primary sections. It precisely summarises the report's main points and conclusions.

vi) Ogive

Ans) The Ogive is defined as the frequency distribution graph of a series. The Ogive is a graph of a cumulative distribution, which explains data values on the horizontal plane axis and either the cumulative relative frequencies, the cumulative frequencies or cumulative per cent frequencies on the vertical axis.  Cumulative frequency is defined as the sum of all the previous frequencies up to the current point. To find the popularity of the given data or the likelihood of the data that fall within the certain frequency range, Ogive curve helps in finding those details accurately.  Create the Ogive by plotting the point corresponding to the cumulative frequency of each class interval. Most of the Statisticians use Ogive curve, to illustrate the data in the pictorial representation. It helps in estimating the number of observations which are less than or equal to the particular value.

vii) Data display

Ans) A data display is a visual depiction of raw or processed data that seeks to express a small number of insights about the behaviour of an underlying table that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grasp. Graphs and charts are common examples, but any visual representation of data, including maps, can be considered a data display.

Data visualisation is the second primary flow of analysis activity. In general, a display is a well-organized, condensed collection of data that allows for conclusion drawing and action. Looking at the display allows us to understand what is going on and to take action based on that understanding. The construction and use of displays, like data reduction, is not independent from analysis; it is an integral aspect of it. Analytic activities include designing a presentation, deciding on the rows and columns of a matrix for qualitative data, and deciding which data, in which form, should be entered in the cells.

viii) Variable definition with examples

Ans) It is recommended that you specify your variables before importing the data into SPSS. A definition like this will come in handy during the data entering and analysis stages. To define each variable, the following information is provided:

1. The variable's name (up to 8 characters only)

2. A brief description (label)

3. A set of labels that describe the value entered (value labels)

4. A statement that some values are invalid and should be eliminated from statistical analysis and other actions (missing values). The data is necessary for deciphering the response pattern and identifying the observations that should be removed from the analysis.

In SPSS, defining variables is simple. Even during analysis, the variable names can be easily updated and amended. Only when the data file is saved using the 'save' or 'save as' command will any changes made to the working files become permanent. To begin the method for defining variables, set the cursor in a specific column and select "Define Variables" from the menu.

The SPSS Data Editor window can be used to directly enter data. If the data is vast, however, you should use a data input software. In the data editor window, you can also edit/change the data. To alter the value of any cell, move the cursor to the cell in question, type the new value, and hit enter. In the Data Editor Window, new variables may be added and current variables can be deleted.