Welcome to the first post in my NCE study series. Each post focuses on one major topic area you’ll see on the exam and includes short guided practice. Start by watching the videos in order—pause after each question to think through your answer, then hit play to check your reasoning. Once you’ve finished both videos, test yourself with the interactive multiple-choice quiz to lock in what you learned.
This post focuses on research design and professional ethics—two domains that show up frequently on the NCE and can easily trip you up if you’re only memorizing definitions instead of understanding the logic behind them.
By the end, you should be able to:
- Distinguish between research designs and sampling methods
- Identify when to use descriptive vs. experimental methods
- Recognize ethical responsibilities and boundaries in counseling practice
- Apply ethical decision-making to real exam-style scenarios
Take your time. Think it through. And remember: learning how to reason through a question is more valuable than just getting it right.