Comprehensive Treatment Plan

Observation and Measurement

In this paper the author will be discussing observation and measurement in the human services. Human service agencies rely on measures and observations in order to prove the need for their programs. Agencies have to prove that there is a need for the services, provide documentation of the quality of the services, and must show that the services are effective. In order for human service agencies to continue to improve programs, rigorous program evaluations must be done.

Reliability

Reliability ensures that the researcher effectively chooses unfailing, valid measures and resources. This is critical to the legitimacy of the study. To accomplish a high standard study is to ensure the accurate answers to the research questions. To achieve high quality of the study depends on how well the research design is outlined. Reliability is the constancy of the measurement, or to the extent to which an instrument measures a similar way each instance it is used under the same condition with the same subject matter. A measure is considered to be reliable if the same result is obtained after a second time. Reliability cannot be measured, it is only estimated. Two different ways to measure reliability is to test a client, and then to retest the same subject.

Validity

Validity is the process of collecting data that supports the precision of the assumptions that are made. Validity is about the degree to which the proof supports that the findings are true and that the way in which the interpretations are used are suitable. Validity refers to the depth of the conclusions, propositions or inferences. There are three different types of validity commonly used for research purposes. Internal validity, construct validity, and external validity are the three different categories. Internal validity deals with whether there is a similarity between a program and the outcome that was reached when the study was finalized. Construct validity is the hardest to comprehend. It questions whether there is a definite relationship between the operational concepts in the study. External Validity is about the ability to generalize the final results of the study to other situations.

Data Collections Method

Data collection is a crucial part of any study. Inappropriate data collection can influence to the validity of the research, and can lead to inaccurate test results. Data collection methods can differ based on the type of assessment and the different outcomes. There are two ways to collect data, qualitative and quantitave. The qualitative and quantitative methods are mostly used exclusively in the social sciences field. Both methods can be combined and data can be used from both types of studies. Researchers who study human behavior do not only observe and document their finding;