¶ … New Health and Wellness Program Evaluation of a Health and Wellness Program

Psychologists use five methods to conduct research including naturalistic observation, case study, survey, correlation, and experimental research. The case study provides researchers with an in-depth analysis of a single participant. In psychological studies employing naturalistic observation, researchers observe and document human or animal behaviors in natural settings. Other research methods include the experimental method, survey research, and correlation study. In a survey study, researchers administer survey questionnaires to large groups of subjects to obtain information on a variety of topics. A correlation study allows psychologists to study the relationships between variables. The results of a correlation analysis indicate positive, negative, or null correlations between variables. In experimental research, researchers alter a variable in a controlled environment to observe measured changes in a study's participants. When the outcome of an experiment is statistically significant, the results are used to make generalized assumptions regarding larger populations. Because of the ability to determine cause and effect, the experimental method is considered the most useful form of scientific research (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2010).

A team of researchers will conduct an evaluation of a corporate health and wellness program. The wellness program has three modules including fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling. Five research methods will be employed in the evaluation including,...

Employee health will be defined as the number of doctor visits per month and workplace absences due to illness. The participants will be randomly selected male and female employees to prevent selection bias. To avoid experimenter bias, a group of independent staff members will conduct and score the assessment. The research team will ask the participants to sign a consent form to ensure compliance with ethical standards.
The researchers will begin the evaluation with a naturalistic observation study to assess behaviors which contribute to poor health. The team will monitor employee behavior in the workplace in five different locations. Two evaluators will be employed, during the observation phase, to avoid discrepancies in documentation. The ethical issues involved with naturalistic observation include being unable able to obtain informed consent prior to the study.

The evaluators will also conduct a case study to obtain a detailed analysis of an individual employee. The study's participant will be a middle aged male employee with stress-related health problems. The researchers will obtain informed consent from the participant to ensure compliance with ethical standards. The performance of the case study will assist the evaluation team in obtaining information about the lifestyle and health of an ordinary company employee. Because the case study is an in- depth analysis of one individual, the researchers will be unable to generalize the results to a broader population.

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