A study was underway at Centro Para las Investigaciones de la Psicologia de la Adolescencia to determine whether the assignment of psychologists who spoke both Spanish and English would result in fewer teenage dropouts after the first therapy session than the assignment of psychologists who were not bilingual. The intern who collected and analyzed the data was very excited because the study emphatically proved the hypothesis that there was indeed a significant relationship between knowing the Spanish language and the probability of teenage clients remaining in therapy after the first visit. However, when the report was submitted for possible publication in the center’s newsletter, it was rejected immediately on the grounds that the study proved nothing. The intern completely overlooked the fact that not only the non-Spanish-speaking group of psychologists, but also the Spanish-speaking group, needed to be non-Hispanic! The poor design of the study was primarily the fault of which person or persons?
Explanation
Answer: D - The poor design of the study was equally the fault of both the supervisor and project manager. The intern, who had very little formal training in psychology, was just following directions. However, it was the responsibility of the project manager to make sure beforehand that the research design was not hopelessly flawed. The supervisor, who also should be held accountable, failed to properly monitor the quality of the intern’s work.
