Question

The Dean of a Master of Arts in Addictions Counseling (MAAC) program wants to tailor curriculum to the types of positions that graduates are likely to obtain after graduation. The three areas of interest are residential treatment facilities, community agencies, and private practice. The purpose of the study is to determine if one of the job placement options is more prevalent than the others. Are MAAC graduates more likely to obtain employment in a residential treatment facility, community agency, or private practice? The researcher surveyed 30 alumni who graduated from the MAAC program three years ago requesting information on their place of employment. The null hypothesis is there will be no difference in the frequency of graduates who are employed in residential treatment facilities, community agencies, and private practice. The researcher used a Chi Square Goodness of Fit test to analyze the data.

The expected frequency for each category of employment is 33.3%. The raw data on frequencies is:

Residential Treatment Facility                       8

Community Agency                                       12

Private Practice                                               10

The results are X² (2, N = 30) = .80, p = .670. (A Chi-Square Test was used)

• What type of study design is used? Please explain.
• Does the study design accurately test the null hypothesis?
• Is the correct statistical test used to analyze the data? Why? Why not?
• Regardless of whether or not the correct statistical test was used, are the results statistically significant? Social science research uses a p value of .05 to determine statistical significance.
• Does the researcher reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
• What are the implications of the results for the study and the counseling field?

Answer 1

• What type of study design is used? Please explain.

Chi-square Goodness of Fit test

• Does the study design accurately test the null hypothesis?

Yes

• Is the correct statistical test used to analyze the data? Why? Why not?

Yes because we have the observed frequency of the data to calculate the expected frequency to determine the goodness of fit.

• Regardless of whether or not the correct statistical test was used, are the results statistically significant? Social science research uses a p value of .05 to determine statistical significance.

No, the results are not statistically significant.

• Does the researcher reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?

Since the p-value (0.670) is greater than the significance level (0.05), we cannot reject the null hypothesis.

• What are the implications of the results for the study and the counseling field?

Therefore, we can conclude that there will be no difference in the frequency of graduates who are employed in residential treatment facilities, community agencies, and private practice.